Sunflowers and Neon Lights
by Jathun
Summary: The word "hero" meant a lot to a lot of people. It was the thing they called out whenever danger appeared. It was the excited look in their eyes as they saw someone standing tall above a wreckage of destruction; triumphant. But for a lot of people it was also the thing they dreamed about - desperately grasping after that elusive light. Naomi Araya was no exception.
1. Chapter 1: Home

_**A/N: So, this is a little project that's been floating around in my head for a while now. I love making my own characters, and ever since I watched My Hero Academia for the first time I've thought that the world was so vibrant, and the characters so much fun, that I simply had to start adding my own ideas and parts into the series. Eventually I stated to make notes about it all. Then this thing happened.**_

 _ **A few notes on all this though before we get started. Because I love making up my own characters so much this piece is gonna be very OC centric. We're talking main characters, side characters, characters that are dead but still have a role to play and enemies. If you just wanna read about the canon characters doing stuff, whatever that stuff might be, and you're not interested in any kind of new angles in the events of the manga/anime, you're not gonna like this thing very much. You have officially been warned.**_

 _ **That being said, I'm still very much in love with many of the canon characters, the whole vibrant world and the story that is given by My Hero Academia. So while this thing will be OC centric it won't completely be that. I'm a big fan of character dramas and growth and, because of that I'm going weave in my characters into the world in a way which will also highlight the main canon characters and how the two parts interact with one another. I hope I manage that at the very least. We'll see.**_

 _ **On a side note. Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse is an amazing movie, and it really inspired me to continue to write this fanfic. I dunno, it just gave me a good vibe which jived great with My Hero Academia. Go see it if you haven't yet. I promise it'll be worth it.**_

* * *

 _ **Warnings for:** Swearing, Blood, Assault, and __Mentions_ _ of Drug Abuse._

* * *

"This means someone is talking"

 _These are thoughts._

 _"_ _This means someone is talking in english - or español_ "

" **This means someone is being very loud!** "

" _ **This means someone is being very loud in english - or español**_ "

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1**_

 _ **Home**_

* * *

 _A hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by. - Felix Adler._

* * *

Naomi Araya couldn't sleep. She had been tossing and turning for hours. Attempting to find a way to force her mind into a blissful slumber. She had tried a glass of water. Listening to music - both instrumental and voiced. Opening a window. Reading. Counting sheep. And counting minutes. But to no avail. She felt tense. Her body pulled tight as a string ready to snap. And her mind was reeling.

Maybe it was the jetlag.

Maybe the change in climate.

Maybe it was the fact that she had just permanently moved to the other side of the earth which had her nerves tingling and her brain buzzing incessantly.

Whatever it was that was keeping her awake she decided was evil, and she wished she could call upon a hero to vanquish it. To fight the demons of her mind in a grand battle of fists and one-liners, and in the end stand victorious upon their unconscious bodies, as they did on television and in the streets every single day. But even they couldn't break the basic laws of physics. Her worries couldn't manifest themselves into forms real enough to maim and damage. They were just going to stay there. As fickle and amorphous as smoke. Still keeping her from getting any sleep.

Naomi turned and opened her eyes. She knew she was looking up toward the white ceiling of her room. Her _new_ room. But all she saw was an abyss of darkness. She couldn't see _shit_ with the new blind over her new window. It was impossible. She sighed. Her restlessness burned in her veins like a smoldering piece of wood about to catch fire. Before today she had at least been able to make out the slight shapes and shadows of the furniture in her space and maybe catch a glimpse of the dawn through the curtains as the sun rose over the distant horizon had she risen early enough. Now there was only a black nothing. A single black-hole out in the vast emptiness of the universe. She didn't even know whether she would be able to _see_ the sunrise from where the house stood. This was not San Francisco.

Naomi huffed and fumbled after the clock on the nightstand beside the bed. She was feeling irritable. Tired. Exhausted. And just a little bit dramatic. Her hand was clumsy in the darkness and the buzzing in her mind grew louder. But eventually she managed to grab onto the clock's blockish shape. With a soft click the dark ceiling above her was illuminated by vivid green numbers. She blinked. Dazed. It was almost three o'clock. Just another three hours and the sun would rise. Another hour after that and her aunt would be heading to her first day of work in the new city. But she hadn't managed to even get an hour's worth of rest. Much less anything which would keep her on her feet during the day. It would be a living nightmare come morning.

She groaned. A low rumble in the back of her throat which turned into more of a growl. Then in a theatrical show of defeat she turned again and pressed her face into her pillow.

It was just one annoyance after another. Everything was just wrong. Her bed felt wrong - it was too new. Her pillow smelled weird - it didn't smell of her orange shampoo yet and instead had a fabricated odor to it; like plastic. Her room was too dark - she had never had a blind before and the pure gloom of it all seemed to set her mind into overdrive. Even more than that, despite the fact that she had her window open it was terrifyingly silent. As though all the noise in the world had been sucked dry. All sound except the low chirping of crickets in the grass. It was unbearable.

Her own pyjamas were the only things which still held onto that distinct feeling of home. But a pair of dark blue boxers and a large t-shirt with the logo of her favorite basketball team did little to soothe her restlessness. Although they might smell of smog and cheap lemon detergent - the smell of _her_ San Francisco - everything else had a distinct flavour of new and costly - the only smell she could up until then relate to the capital city of Japan. Her aunt had spared no expenses in the move. Whatever could change became new and polished. Everything which stayed the same was reinvented or tucked away as precious mementoes. She still didn't know if she liked it all.

Naomi breathed in. It was a tedious and long-winded gulp of air. As though she had never tasted it before. And repelled by the smell of plastic - _it just had to be plastic_ \- she stretched out and pulled her feet over the side of the bed. She glanced up at the clock's projection again. For a moment entranced by the eerie light it gave off. But as soon as she blinked the moment was over and her thoughts grew restless and impatient. She frowned.

 _No way I'm getting any sleep tonight…_

She took another deep breath. Her eyes shut tight. With three hours left until sunrise there were several ways she could kill time - but one idea in particular sparked her curiosity.

It was a stupid idea.

She hadn't conjured up something so reckless in months. But no one had ever claimed she was particularly brilliant once she was running on empty. So before she could change her mind about the whole thing, she rose from the bed.

She flinched as her feet landed softly upon the wooden floor. It was cold. A stark contrast between the warm, soft bedding and a floor without heating. It didn't help that she was naturally cold blooded and easily froze in colder weather. Although seeing as they were in the middle of may she would have thought that the spring heat from outside would have been enough to warm up the house. Naomi ignored the small chill as best as she could however and stretched out to her full length. Unwinding her tense muscles with a little bit of exercise and the prospect of some excitement. She grimaced.

Her aunt would yell at her if she knew what she was about to do. Maybe even ground her. It would be the first time in years.

She moved in a haste then. Quickly spurred on by the want not to get caught even thinking about doing what she was about to do as her spark of excitement grew steadily. Her slowly chilling feet were soon dressed in a pair of grey socks as she threw her new wardrobe open and began to rummage through her small collection of clothes - still unorganized from the move. Though she barely saw anything in the dim lime green light coming from the clock she managed to just about jank on a pair of dark jeans and a loose olive green sweatshirt. She found her phone on the nightstand beside the clock. And her bulky neon green headphones alongside them. She fumbled for a bit. Still caught between wanting to go back to the bed and finally get some sleep - she was so tired -, and knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to sleep until right upon morning anyways. But her curiosity won out in the end. It usually did.

Naomi exited her room with bated breath. Her fingers tapping on her phone in the pocket of her sweatshirt. Nervous. Her heartbeat was growing slightly more erratic. And she found herself attentively listening for any sound other than her own deceptively calm breaths. She heard nothing out of the ordinary, so she closed the door softly behind her and began to make her way passed the hallway, then down the stairs.

It took a few moments for her to stumble her way through the darkness the whole house seemed to be caught within. Even in the places where a little bit of light would normally seep in through reflections there seemed to be no escaping the shroud of darkness. It was hard to even see her own feet but she didn't dare to turn on any lights. Her aunt was a light sleeper and could very well notice. It was almost a superpower in its own right. Only once Naomi made it into the small alcove which opened up into the front door did she dare to even consider it. She needed the light to find her shoes.

It took even more fumbling to find the lightswitch on the wall. She was slowly but surely getting tired of stumbling around blindly in the dark. And as the lightbulb above her head came alive in a flash of brilliance she had to blink trice before her eyes adjusted to the brightness. After that it was laughably easy to find her asparagus green sneakers amongst the blacks and reds of her housemates shoes. She was really the only one in their household who held an adoration for the color - no matter what shade.

Naomi easily slipped into the shoes and tied the shoelaces in a messy knot. She was just about to head out the front door when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror embedded in the door. She stared at her reflection. What looked back at her was a young girl just passed fourteen with tawny brown skin and green eyes. Although she really believed she shouldn't be; she was short. Her partially hispanic blood hadn't helped her at all in gaining some height. It was something she thought was incredibly unfair - especially considering that her older brother had turned out tall enough to rival anyone back in the states. He hadn't moved with them.

Naomi frowned. She tugged at a strand of pastel pink hair as she studied the mess it had become overnight. Her dark brown roots had begun to show - which meant she would have to dye it again soon. It wasn't cheap to buy that stuff back in the states, and she couldn't imagine it was much cheaper in any of the stores here either. She always felt bad using her allowance on such a frivolous thing. But…

She liked the color pink. Almost as much as her cherished green.

Naomi grabbed the green baseball cap which hung on the wall hanger just aside the front door and turned the handle. She was out the door before she could give it all a second thought.

* * *

Takoba train station lay in a veil of silence. It was empty. Almost deserted this late in the night save for a few silent stragglers and a single station agent who was practically asleep on his feet. It was as though the whole place was holding its breath. Waiting. Wordlessly anticipating the morning when it would be bustling with life again. Naomi had never seen anything like it.

San Francisco was always full of life - night or day didn't matter. It was just the people who changed.

Naomi bit at her lower lip as she browsed the timetable for the upcoming trains. It was a godsend she knew the language fluently. Her aunt had insisted she leaned it already early on - it being a part of her blood as well. But she had never been as thankful for that until the move happened. Otherwise she would have been a blind man walking - this time for different reasons. It had been hard enough to find proper signs in english at the airport and out there in the suburban areas no one had thought it was necessary at all. Naomi didn't blame them. What kind of tourist would want to wander around a residence area?

 _There's one heading to central tokyo in ten minutes…_ She was lucky. Had there been no night trains this whole endeavour would have been pointless. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through its contents until she found the train ticket her aunt had bought her at the airport yesterday. It was supposed to last all year long. She scanned the ticket and passed the turnstile.

It was a short walk up a couple of stairs to the platform, and as she walked, she pulled the baseball cap upon her head further down and adjusted the headphones resting around her neck. She was almost certain that her plan could still be considered extremely stupid. But she couldn't help but to feel a little sense of victory as she was slowly approaching her destination. Her excitement hadn't ebbed away at all during the short walk from the house. She was thankful for it.

Naomi walked out onto the platform with a smile growing upon her lips. The fresh air away from the house was good for her - despite the train station's slight smell of dumped cigarettes and what could only be forgotten garbage. It chased away some of her exhaustion - left her wanting more. As though it could chase away her homesickness too.

She still had a few minutes to wait before the train came. So to pass time she scrolled through her phone. Checking what kinds of forums and gossip sites were popular in Japan. She had always liked those about heroes - but then again everybody did. Since the quirk factor was discovered in china - a mutated gene in the human body which granted individuals extraordinary powers -, and it spread throughout the world, the once dream-like profession only contained to comics and movies became a reality. It had at first really only been a publicity stunt to quell the chaos which arose after people began to misuse their mutation - their quirks. But the governments all around the world became desperate enough, and the initiative popular enough, that it became a state funded profession. Heroes were a dime a dozen nowadays. Naomi had watched them battle on the streets more often than in movies and shows in her childhood. Moreover the most popular heroes were treated like celebrities. And gossip sites always loved to talk about celebrities.

Naomi scrolled through a couple of those sites. She read a couple of articles about this hero being in that scandal and this hero resolving that conflict. It was no different than what was written about the professionals in the states. It made her feel a little bit more at home - even if the heroes over here had a bit more funky names from time to time.

She had just about enough time to consider joining a forum site which discussed active heroes and their mutations when the train arrived. Naomi closed down her phone and watched the sliding doors open. Her heartbeat quickened as she walked into the wagon and the doors closed behind her. _Almost there…_

The train ride into central tokyo was nothing to speak of until she saw the first couple of skyscrapers. She had found a good unoccupied window seat amongst the few passengers which rode the train and spent most of the twenty minute ride scrolling through the forum site she had discovered earlier. But as soon as the city lights came over her window she was slack jawed. Her eyes grew wide as she gawked at the city which would be her new home for the foreseeable future. San Francisco had nothing on nighttime Tokyo. At least in terms of flashiness.

It was as though she were looking out into a nebula in outer space. A bursting nebula full of galaxies, stars and supernovas. Vivid. Bright. Glorious. It was a show of neon signs, vibrant advertisements displayed on enormous screens and reflections upon the glass encased buildings. A spectrum of colors encased the city in a living, breathing, blanket. Naomi pressed herself closer to the window. In the distance she could see Tokyo Tower. Looming proudly over all other buildings and ignited by a thousand more lights. It was the center of the city. A beacon of light amongst a mass of confusion and wonder.

She couldn't get enough. It looked fantastic.

As soon as the speakers called out her stop and the sliding doors opened; she was out the doors again. She passed pedestrians, travellers wanting to catch their train ride home or forced into working too early, bumping shoulders as she almost ran through the train station - this one much larger than the one nearest to the house, and certainly not deserted. She turned a corner, and jogged up a couple of stairs. Until finally a shopping district opened up before her eyes.

She stopped. Catching her breath.

It was amazing. Tall buildings rose on either side of the busy street, reaching for the stars above their heads with little regard to either the ant sized people walking by on the ground or the cars speeding by like small comets. The people talked with one another, repeating rumors, yelling into their phones and whispering secrets to their lovers. Naomi grinned as advertisements in all shapes and colors blinded her eyes.

 _This_ was what she had wanted.

She hadn't even been able to explore the city before she had moved. It had all gone too quickly. A phone call. Some mails. Then a week later she was on a flight to the other side of the earth. Everything she knew and considered home gone with the wind. She didn't blame her aunt for taking the opportunity with the job. It was good money. They needed it. Her aunt's girlfriend needed it. There was even an opportunity for herself in the form of a prestigious school in the package. But with a move as large as this there were adjustments to be made. Naomi hadn't been able to adapt to the change before it happened - she hadn't gotten a chance to meet the city proper before she became part of it.

 _This_ was the kind of meeting she needed.

Naomi took a deep breath. Her green eyes glinting in excitement. She gripped her phone tightly in her sweatshirt pocket, and moved onward. Her mind set on exploring as much of the city as she could before sunrise.

She browsed closed stores as she passed them. Admiring the colorful storefronts. Breathing in the the distinct city air which tasted of smog and burnt concrete. It wasn't too different from San Francisco - the systems were the same. She looked on as people passed by, and marveled at the skyscrapers which stood so tall they seemed to go on forever. She read posters. Listened to the traffic. Found a store which sold badly written english sentences on t-shirts. And saw a hero walk out of his office to go on patrol.

But she was also mindful of herself. Her head kept downward whenever she wasn't gawking at something or another. A fourteen year old girl wandering the streets this late at night was a recipe for trouble worse than anything she could cook up herself. All kinds of criminal activity still persisted in the dark corners of society. Heroes couldn't be everywhere at once.

Still she watched on eagerly as the city just _lived_.

And before she knew it an hour of exploration passed her by.

Naomi frowned as she checked the clock on her phone. She barely had two hours before sunrise and her exhaustion had started to kick in again. But she didn't feel finished. Not by a long shot. She hadn't even managed to see a proper hero battle it out with a villain. And though it was maybe in bad taste to want to see something like that, she wanted to know which heroes were most active where, what their quirks were, and how they operated. She was an admirer of the kind of work those professionals were doing and even back in the states she had always wanted to know as much as she could about the specialists. It was important; because she desperately wanted to be a hero too.

But it seemed she was out of luck.

Naomi came to a halt in front of a storefront. It was an electronics shop. A small place probably privately owned and maintained. It was nothing special. But it had a smart presentation. A pyramid of televisions in all sizes and shapes stood at the window. All of them displaying the same program in perfect synchronization.

 _Isn't that a waste of electricity for such a small place though?_ She thought so but found herself transfixed by the display at the window. It was showing an old rerun of a famous interview with a certain man. She knew because she could distinctly remember watching it live with her aunt when she was twelve and being moved by the enthusiasm of the interviewee.

He was massive. The interviewee was a man of monumental size and undeniable grandeur - standing at an imposing two metres and with muscles as large as an adult head. None of the screens could properly accommodate for the man's build in comparison to the interviewer. But despite his intimidating presence he was always laughing and smiling. Kindhearted. Always looking out for others and their wishes over his own. He was a blonde haired pillar of society. The greatest hero of them all.

 _All Might._

 _The legendary Symbol of Peace._

Naomi read the subtitles fondly. He was talking about a recent conflict with a group of villains who had taken a whole school as hostage in exchange for money. The famed hero had come and saved the day. He always did.

The interviewer asked the hero a lot of questions throughout the interview. What was his daily workout routine? What had he been thinking as he saved the school? Did he like any recent movies? But none of the questions asked could compare to the charisma and passion the hero exuded all by himself. He was like a single star, ablaze in the night.

At the end of the interview the renowned hero spoke two words...

" _Plus Ultra_ …"

Naomi whispered the words to herself. Almost as though they were an important secret to be kept from the rest of the world. A prayer. A wish. It was something special. She couldn't stop the delighted grin from spreading upon her lips. It trailed a pleasant thrill from her head to her toes. It always did.

Naomi turned from the screens once the program was over and a commercial started to play instead. But the grin didn't falter. She felt invigorated by the sight of the greatest hero and the catchphrase he had populated was always a successful way to get going. It encouraged people to go beyond their limits. As she walked on it was as though her feet felt lighter. Her exhaustion all but forgotten.

She did however come to a stop not long after as she came face to face with a darkened alleyway. It was again nothing special. A thousand more alleyways just like it existed all over the city and a million more again all over the world. It had garbage bags gathering along the walls, cigarette dumps littering the ground and an awful smell like piss in the air. But there was something there she hadn't seen yet as she'd been travelling across tokyo. It had a stairway going all the way up to the roof of one of the buildings.

Naomi narrowed her eyes. She scanned the area for any stragglers who could possibly cause her trouble, but there were few along the road she had taken. Most of them too absorbed in their own business to notice the young girl. So she walked into the alleyway and began to climb the stairs.

In a few minutes time she had reached the very top of the building. She breathed through her nose as she looked over the place. It wasn't the tallest building in the area - it was far from it with its mesley four stories. But it did have a rather nice view over the shopping district and the rest of the city.

Naomi sat herself down upon the ledge of the roof and took out her phone. She snapped a few pictures of the scenery. And proud of the result she then closed her eyes. Humming the tune of one of her favorite songs.

She mouthed the lyrics of the chorus to herself. Her legs swinging back and forth over the side of the building. It was a feelgood song. She tapped her fingers against her phone in tune to the melody. Content.

" _Hmm.._. _you're a sunflower_ ".

" _ **Stop!**_ "

Naomi's eyes flew open. The song died in her throat as her pulse quickened into overdrive by the sudden noise. Her heartbeat instantly goaded into a heavy pounding. _What was -._

 _ **Another yell.**_

It came from the alleyway. The sound echoed off the walls like something recorded in a bathroom. It was a woman screaming. Her vocal chords cracked but high pitched and hoarse. Desperate.

Naomi jumped to her feet. She ran over to the side of the building with the stairway and looked down into the darkness below. It was too dark. She could barely see anything. _What was going on?_

As the thought barely registered in her mind she finally managed to make out two shadows struggling with each other at the far end of the passage. One was large. Moving clumsily. As though drunk or injured. The other one was smaller and pushed into a corner. It looked like it was shaking. As though terrified.

 _Shit._

Someone was being assaulted.

Naomi looked around herself. As though her surroundings would give her the answer to the situation. Her mind whirling. _This_ was why being out in the city so late was dangerous.

 _What do I do?_

...

 _Call a hero you idiot!_

She fumbled with her phone. Her fingers finding the number pad only with a lot of difficulty. She began to furiously push a couple of number. She was going off of instinct but...

... _What was the emergency line in Japan?_

Naomi paled. She hadn't bothered to memorize it yet. Too caught up in her own worries about the move she hadn't even thought about looking it up online or anywhere. She hadn't even asked her aunt. _How stupid can you -_.

It was then she saw something glinting in the dark. It moved along with the larger shape though it was small and concealed. It took her only a glance to know what the thing was. There were still idiots running around with them everywhere back in the states. Attempting to look intimidating. Acting stupid. It was a knife.

Naomi gripped her phone tightly in her hand. The plastic groaned beneath her fingers. Even if she called a hero...would they get there in time?

Naomi saw the larger shape lunge. It tackled the smaller shape onto the ground.

A scream was muffled.

Naomi's body moved of its own accord. Within a fraction of a second the area around her flared up as sparks of dense green neon travelled up her body and caused her hairs to stand on end. It seethed with a sound much alike the buzzing of electricity. Then she jumped off the roof.

She quickly pummeled toward the ground. As the baseball cap flew off her head from the force the air pushed and pulled roughly at the strands of pink hair and the wind howling in her ears grew louder and louder. She grit her teeth and braced for a fast approaching impact - feeling lucky that the building wasn't too tall. She landed on top of a garbage can and the metal buckled beneath her weight. Her legs screamed out in protest as pain raked her body for but a moment. But her mutation - her quirk - worked quickly after a day of inactivity. All the pain was gone as fast as it came. It was never more than a brief thought.

She lunged instantly at the larger shape.

Her fist caught the gruff man in the jaw. He was sent sprawling onto the ground beside the woman he had been attacking. Overwhelmed by the sudden strike.

Naomi meanwhile managed to just about balance herself before she could land on top of the woman - and unintentionally cause her harm. She stumbled to her feet. Her quirk still working on properly healing her legs. She planted her foot firmly on top of the knife the man had dropped in the onslaught. And checked the woman for any injuries.

She was a middle aged woman, with brown hair and wide haunted eyes, and despite the relative warmth in the air she was wearing a thick fur coat - of the expensive kind you could only get in certain stores. Her whole body was shaking terribly. But save for a bloody gash upon her arm - which she was clutching to her body - she seemed fine.

Naomi reached a hand out toward the woman. Smiling.

She recoiled. Frightened.

"I-I'm sorry", Naomi said, surprised at the woman's reaction. She didn't know what she had done wrong. "I just wanna help. Are you alright?".

The woman shook her head furiously.

Then Naomi realized she was still glowing in a kitschy green light. _Stupid_. It would have been a rather startling sight even in this day and age where people had tails and could breathe fire - especially in a situation as temperamental as this one. She quickly deactivated her quirk and held her hands up in surrender.

"Look, here, I'm not so scary, right?"

Naomi smiled again. Kindly.

The woman looked at her. She looked at her hands held in surrender. At her face. Up and down. She looked at the fourteen year old girl who had just saved her from something undoubtedly terrible. And slowly nodded her head. Her brown bangs bouncing with the movement.

Naomi reached out her hand again, and this time the woman accepted her help. She pulled the woman to her feet by her uninjured arm, and once the woman stood steadily upon her own to feet she took a step back to give her some space.

She looked over to the gruff assailant. He was still laying on the ground, his hand clutching at his wounded jaw. Whimpering. Muttering unintelligible things. He must have been drunk. Or worse. Naomi hoped he would stay that way. It hadn't been on her agenda today to fight someone so intoxicated they could barely string together coherent sentences.

She looked back at the woman. And more precisely at the woman's injured arm. It was dripping blood onto the concrete. No doubt it hurt badly.

"Can I take a look at that?".

Naomi regarded the woman patiently. She watched the woman twitch. Startled. As though she hadn't heard her the woman looked at her arm in such a way that it seemed like she was confused by its existence before slowly reaching it out to the young girl.

Naomi gently took ahold of the arm and examined the injury. It wasn't deep. Luckily. The man had cut a clumsy gash into the woman's skin but barely touched any of the delicate veins there. Had he done so there would have been a lot more blood.

Naomi smiled. "I'm gonna use my quirk, okay?".

She looked up at the woman and waited for a reply. It was important to ask for consent before using a quirk on somebody. Her homeroom teacher back in the states had drilled that into her brain with an iron fist.

The woman nodded carefully. She eyed the young girl as though she was going to explode at any minute. Naomi absently thought that it looked quite funny.

"It looks flashy, but I promise I'm not gonna hurt you".

Naomi breathed in, and activated her quirk again, and for a split second her whole body flared up - the air around her buzzing like tiny invisible bees. But another second went by and all the green, fizzling, neon gathered in her hand. She slowly moved it over the wound. Her eyes narrowed. Concentrating.

A moment passed.

Then Naomi breathed out a sigh of relief and deactivated her quirk. All the light faded from her person and the alleyway was shrouded in a deep gloom again. But she could still see the wounded arm clearly. Or what _had_ been a wounded arm. It was now clear of any damage in any way. No tearing. No gash. Not even a single bruise. It was as though there had never been a wound there at all - save for the dried blood remaining upon the woman's skin. She in turn was staring wide eyed at her arm as though it had suddenly grown several inches. Her hand flexed.

"It...it's gone"

Naomi nodded. She smiled brightly.

"You…", the woman gasped. Unbelieving. She looked at the young girl with wide eyes. "It doesn't even hurt anymore…".

"Good", Naomi said. It would have been embarrassing had it still hurt. Her healing was her speciality after all.

The woman narrowed her eyes. "You're not a hero, are you?".

Naomi laughed. "No, not yet at least".

"You're studying?"

Naomi shook her head. She recalled the letter of application she had sent just a week ago to one of the schools in the country. It was a work in progress; her studies. She knew what she wanted to be and where she wanted to study in order to walk down that path. Once the move was set in stone there was really only one choice after all. But she still had an eight month period of mediocre school sludge to drag herself through. It could very well murder her ambitions if she wasn't careful. "I've applied to UA though".

"That prestigious school?"

"Yeah".

The woman nodded. As the pain cleared from her arm and the shock slowly wore itself down her head seemed to clearing up as well. It was good.

Naomi looked over to the assailant again. "Do you know why he attacked you?".

The woman faltered for a bit. She glanced at the man over her shoulder. Frowning.

"He's...he's my ex".

"Oh".

"He's not usually like that though!", the woman exclaimed. She bit at her lip and rubbed at her previously injured arm. "I think he took something. He used to be so sweet".

"Drugs?".

"Yeah".

Naomi frowned. She despised the stuff. It was the worst kind of thing you could put in your body to harm it. But still it was everywhere. She shook her head.

 _People are stupid…_

"I think I'm gonna call the cops…"

Naomi looked up at the woman. She was still gazing at her assailant. It sounded like she was slightly lost on what to do - which was understandable. No one should have to experience something like she just did. No one.

Naomi nodded. "I think you should call an ambulance too".

The woman blinked. She looked back at the young girl and seemed slightly confused by her suggestion. "Oh, yeah".

Naomi smiled. She rubbed at the back of her neck and sighed. A yawn quickly worked its way passed her mouth. She blinked. And looked down at the phone in her hand. She had almost forgotten it was there in all the excitement. But she was glad she hadn't in some way dropped it. _Speaking of…_

Naomi checked the time on her phone.

...

 _Shit._

Naomi paled. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She double checked the time - and then again a third just to be sure. But there were no three ways about it...

Her aunt would wake up in ten minutes.

And all hell would break loose.

"Oh no, no, no…".

Naomi turned her head toward the heavens in a vain hope that her phone had glitched in one way or another. But sure enough the once star adorned blackened sky had turned slightly indigo as the sun slowly approached the horizon. She swore. All kinds of colourful spanish curses flew out of her mouth as she began to look around for her baseball cap. She had no idea where it had landed in her flight from the top of the building. She wanted it back.

The woman looked at her oddly.

"Are you alright?"

Naomi nodded frantically. "No, yes, sorry. _Mierda!_ ".

She cursed again. _Perfect._ The baseball cap had fallen right on top of a puddle beside a heap of garbage and debris. It was dirty. And had started to smell. She refused to put it on and simply held it in her free hand instead. At least she had found it.

"I gotta go".

Naomi gave a last glance toward the assailant before she walked up to the woman again. He hadn't moved at all. Still rambling incoherently. Disorganized. As though some piece of him had been stolen away. Naomi frowned at the sight. As a precaution she bent down and picked up the knife from the ground. She handed it over to the woman - who took it awkwardly.

"It's not gonna bite you", Naomi tried to reassure the woman. She watched her eye the sharp weapon with barely concealed disgust. "Call the cops. Get an ambulance. Just keep it as a backup in case that guy tries anything again".

The woman nodded slowly.

Naomi smiled. "I gotta go. But be careful".

Again the woman nodded.

Naomi watched her for but a moment still. Wanting to make certain that she wasn't going to break down from the trauma of the situation. But after a while of complete silence she looked up from the knife and a genuine smile graced her lips. She nodded for a third time. Naomi turned and rushed down the alleyway.

She was just about to turn the corner into the main road once more when the woman called out to her again. Her voice clearer and stronger than it had been during the assault. It almost sounded melodious.

" **Hey!** "

Naomi looked over her shoulder. Confused. Did something happen again?

" **I'll be cheering for you, hero!** "

Naomi sucked in a breath. Her feet slowed down to a halt. Awed. She was caught in the smile the woman sent her. It was something overwhelming. Genuine. Something she had never been privy to seeing before. Something the professional heroes kept a monopoly on which she desperately wanted for herself as well. It was gratitude.

It was a giddy warmth which settled into her stomach. It rushed all throughout her body and made her toes tingle. Her cheeks flushed. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.

Naomi grinned.

" **Yeah!** "

She waved at the woman. And turned the corner.

While she was running back through the shopping district and toward the train station, her heart pounding in her chest and an ever present grin lighting up her face, Naomi began to realize something.

Tokyo wasn't San Francisco. It could never be. But she found herself not caring too much anymore. Home; that was wherever she found herself wanted, and she could imagine it working out well enough here too. As long as she managed to get into that hero training program everything would be fine.

* * *

In the end Naomi managed to get home before her aunt left for work.

But she was already awake; and the young girl was promptly grounded.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Well, that was the first chapter. A quick introduction to our main character, her home situation, her quirk, and not to mention her recklessness. It'll undoubtedly bite her in the ass later. We'll see._**

 ** _Quick props to my little sister who kept bugging me to finally get this fanfic going. Without her I probably wouldn't have had the energy to write even this first chapter, much less plan ahead for more. So thanks for that sis, I hope you like what I have planned out for the future. This thing is gonna be a doosey._**

 ** _More chapters will be coming soon!_**

 ** _Please R &R! _**


	2. Chapter 2: Day of the Entrance Exam

_**A/N: I have returned! Also I cranked out this chapter earlier than expected because it's my little sister's birthday and I wanted to give her something extra. So while Wenedsday might be a bit of an odd day to update, this will be just a one time thing. On that note, happy birthday sis! I hope you're having a good one so far and that this chapter gives you that little cherry on top to make your day perfect! Love you!**_

 _ **Moving on, I'm going to try to stick to a weekly friday update from now on**_ _ **. We'll see if I can actually hold to that once life starts to get stressful again and I'll be busy with other things. But here's for hoping. I really want to get this thing going. There'll be lots of interesting things happening later on which I can't wait to get to in terms of writing. I promise it'll be exiting!**_

 _ **Now, onward with the chapter!**_

* * *

 _ **Warnings for:** Swearing._

* * *

"This means someone is talking"

 _These are thoughts._

 _"_ _This means someone is talking in english - or español_ "

" **This means someone is being very loud!** "

" _ **This means someone is being very loud in english - or español**_ "

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2**_

 _ **Day of the Entrance Exam**_

* * *

 _Don't be afraid. There are exquisite things in store for you. This is merely the beginning. - Oscar Wilde._

* * *

Naomi stared down at the the brown, bitter liquid in her pink, cat-eared ceramic cup. A barely contained sneer marred her otherwise quite soft features and her brows were furrowed. As though she were concentrating on something important. She tilted the cup this way and that way as she stirred the contents of the cup with a small spoon. Creating waves on the surface of the drink and breaking them upon the walls of the cup in an endless circle of motion. It looked like it was dancing. Swirling. Swirling. Swirling.

She felt sick to her stomach.

But it wasn't the fault of her morning coffee.

It had been eight months since she had moved to the other side of the earth. A stagnant - horrible - eight months since she had been forced to say goodbye to the states and her beloved neighbourhood - no matter how flawed they were. May had turned to September which in turn had become February. All the seasons passing by like the wind until spring was almost around the corner again.

It had even been five months since she was freed from the grounding she had received from sneaking out that first night. Although her aunt would still sometimes give her the side eye whenever she said she would go outside for a bit.

It had been a pretty stupid idea.

...

She couldn't get herself to regret it at all.

What she did regret however was maybe not paying too much attention to the time while it passed. It had hardly registered in her mind when the minutes became hours, the hours became days and the days turned into weeks. She had blinked. Her head caught up in all the schoolwork, then basketball and then again video games. Until finally she had realized that her time for preparations and revisions was over. She was already passed the eleventh-hour.

Today was the day of her entrance exam.

Her entrance exam into one of the most prestigious schools in the country.

She didn't know if she could do it.

Naomi sloshed the coffee.

...

Maybe a little bit too hard.

It splashed over the edge. Her movement too sudden and forceful for the unfortunate ceramic cup to catch and she was too late to save herself. The steaming liquid spilled onto her hand and the oak table beneath.

" _Shit!_ "

Naomi cursed. It burned badly. Her skin stinging with the pain as the liquid made a mess of her seat at the kitchen table. She almost activated her quirk out of instinct. But thought better of it all. It wouldn't do to start abusing it this early in the day even if she wanted to. She could handle the pain - she always did. Instead she grit her teeth - hissing like a snake - and grabbed after the roll of paper towels which stood in front of her upon the table. She pulled out a large portion of it. Spawning a makeshift blanket upon her side of the table as it began to soak up the bitter drink.

" _Ay, Naomi! Que en el mundo?!_ "

It came from behind her. Naomi turned her head. Her eyebrows furrowing further.

She watched a tall black woman rush toward her from the kitchen area at the back. It was her aunt's longtime girlfriend. Jana Huerta. A woman with an energetic character and an infectious smile. Her coiled mane of hair was tied back with a simple white ribbon and she was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a plain white shirt. She held a cup of steaming hot tea in her hand and her expression was exasperated. Something Naomi had grown increasingly familiar with over the years. Mostly because she was often the cause of the exasperation.

Jana put the cup of tea down upon the table. Out of reach from the mess the young girl had created. She eyed the paper towel Naomi had pulled onto her stinging hand and sighed.

" _Eres un poco idiota"._

 _You little idiot._

Naomi frowned. "' _S not as if I did it on purpose_ ".

She spoke in a rushed english. Her american accent heavy with west coast influences as she tried to explain herself to her secondary housemate. It was an unspoken rule in the household to keep to english and spanish when talking with one another. Not that it was an easy thing to shake off regardless. Even before the move she had rarely spoken japanese at home - and then again only ever with her aunt.

Jana arched an eyebrow. Disbelieving. " _Really? Cause I could have sworn you were playin' around with that shit just a minute ago_ ".

She spoke with an equally heavy american accent. San Francisco had been both of their homes up until just recently. But the older woman had a harder time getting rid of her texan roots. She had been born and raised in the southern state. A texas citizen through and through - even as both her parents had come from mexico.

Naomi avoided the older woman's eyes. " _...wasn't really playin'_ "

" _Uhuh?_ "

" _I was contemplating the universe's unwillingness to cooperate with me",_ Naomi said, almost muttering the words. It was a lie - and a bad one at that. She had never been good at lying. " _Coffee just happened to get in the way"._

" _Nah, conejito, you were playin'",_ Jana laughed impishly. She grabbed ahold of the mess of paper towels and started to wipe the table down. Ignoring the teenager beside her who sent her a tongue-in-cheek grimace.

" _Was not…_ ".

Jana nodded - obviously not believing the young girl. She finished wiping down the table and as she pulled the paper towels into a pile of white and brown plaster, which she let sit on the table, disregarded, she sat down upon the chair beside the pouting teenager.

" _So, what's got you 'not' playin' with that brown shit_?"

Naomi frowned. She looked up at the older woman. "' _s not shit_ "

She liked coffee.

Whenever it wasn't burning her hand and making a mess of the table she sat at.

Jana nodded. " _Right. Right. So what's got you playin' with that 'not shit' then?_ ".

Naomi rubbed her burned hand. " _Dunno...it's probably stupid_ ".

It had to be. Otherwise she was afraid she would have a breakdown.

" _Most things in life are_ ", Jana said. She closed her eyes and scrunched her nose. A moment later she opened them again and looked at the young girl. Her dark brown eyes glinting in the bright light of the kitchen. She grinned. " _So tell your Nana what's bothering you_ ".

Naomi almost felt like flushing at the old nickname. When she was younger she used to have troubles saying the older woman's name. It had stuck ever since - despite her best efforts to grow out of it.

"' _S just…_ ", Naomi mumbled. " _..the entrance exam…_ ".

She sighed. It was a sound of utter defeat.

Jana grimaced. Her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pouting.

" _What about it? We both know you'll ace it. So what's got you in a sludge?_ ".

Naomi groaned. Her elbow settled upon the table and she let her head come to a rest in her awaiting hand. Her injured hand lay still beside the cat-eared cup.

She was well aware of her housemates opinions on her chances at the prestigious school. It had encouraged her throughout the last couple of months as she had been studying and honing out her healing prowess. But she didn't know whether they would end up in the right. She had a quirk which healed people. She could mend damaged tissue, repair broken bones and soothe muscle tears. It was rare. It was useful. She was lucky in that regard. Nevertheless it wasn't something which would give her an edge in a department dominated by the kind of people who smashed their way through concrete with their bare fists. Even if she had the written part of the exam in the bag there was the practical to consider. She had no idea what the practical would even involve. For all she knew she would end up being about as useful as a lamp. Literally.

Maybe she was worrying over nothing. But there was a nagging feeling of doubt in the back of her head. It gave her a headache.

" _...but what if I don't…_ ".

Jana sighed. " _We've talked about this, conejito_ "

" _I know, I know, but…_ "

But what if she hadn't studied hard enough after all? But what if she was so incompetent next to the other participants when it came to raw strength that she blended into the background? Forgotten among the masses? What if she completely blanked out in the middle of the written exam? She was still a little bit flimsy with some of the japanese letters - the ones taken over from chinese; the kanji. Her handwriting wasn't the most eloquent either. What if the examinees didn't understand what she wrote? It wouldn't even matter if she had the right answer or not because no one could read it either ways.

UA High School had a track-record of only accepting one in three hundred participants every year for their entrance exam. As someone who wanted to try their hand at the famed school you had to be something truly special. Naomi usually prided herself for her constant strive toward the top. She had a tendency to go all out in any kind of competition she found herself roped into. It was what had made her excell at basketball with her junior team back in the states. But what if that wasn't enough?

 _If my best isn't enough...what the hell do I do?_

She could feel the older woman's eyes on the back of her head. It was uncomfortable. She knew she was most likely overreacting, letting her nerves get the better of her, and she knew that the older woman was well aware of it as well. But the 'what if' burned in her veins restlessly.

Naomi activated her quirk and let the green bristling light envelop her stinging hand. Her quirk soothed the slight burn in a heartbeat as it buzzed in the air. Jana sighed.

" _Tell you what, we still have two hours before you have to be at the school, right?_ "

Naomi looked up. Her eyes narrowed. Confused.

" _Yeah, but what -_ "

Jana nodded.

" _So, get out, get sweatin' and clear your head_ ", the older woman said. She smiled and held her cup of tea up in a mock-cheer. " _Then I'll drive you to the school and you can do the best you can with the exam. Deal?_ ".

Naomi's eyes widened. Didn't she have work?

She did. Naomi could explicitly remember the older woman complaining about her huge amounts of work yesterday as they ate dinner. It had been a tirade about the stocks for a particular hero pummeling after a certain scandal. Jana had been beside herself in concern because she was handling another hero who had came to be involved in the scandal because of familial ties. She worked as a manager at a hero agency for a firm in the states - all from her home computer. But as far as the young girl could comprehend it was just hard work with barely enough pay. She could herself only just understand the bare minimum about the stock market and how it related to heroes before getting a headache. It was too complicated.

All the same the older woman was being genuine about her proposal. It would take away from her office hours. But she didn't seem to mind.

Naomi nodded vigorously. Smiling. " _Yeah, yeah, I think I can do that_ ".

Jana grinned. " _Good, then drink up, and get going_ ".

The older woman leaned out of her seat and planted a small kiss at the top of the teenager's pink haired head. She ruffled the girl's hair affectionately. Loose strands of newly dyed hair coming free of the ponytail the young girl had fashioned only a few minutes earlier. Still Naomi didn't mind. She drank what remained of her coffee and was out of the kitchen in a heartbeat. Still worried. But also feeling slightly more enthusiastic.

* * *

Naomi's head felt clearer. Jana had been absolutely right. It didn't hurt anymore to think about the upcoming exam and the fresh air burned pleasantly in her lungs as she ran through the neighbourhood. It's suburban landscape shifting and changing around her person as she passed.

She had managed to quickly change out of her pyjamas and into a plain pair of green sweatpants and a hoodie before she rushed out the front door. Just about remembering to bring her phone on the way out, though she forgot her headphones. But she could survive a thirty minute run without music for once.

She had already been running for twenty five minutes when she finally came to a halt at the municipal beach park. It was only just a few minutes walk away from the house and she always passed it on the way back on her runs. It had been an eyesore ever since the move. An ugly stain on what was otherwise a rather nice looking neighbourhood. It had become a garbage dump throughout the years as currents caused a lot of debris and rubble to wash ashore. Moreover there were people adding to the issue by throwing their personal garbage on top of the already grotesque refuse. Mountains of rusted waste and trash had risen out of the sand. It was almost like something out of a horror movie. Or at least what she imagined they were like.

That _had_ been the case, but…

It had started around a year ago. Someone had taken it upon themselves to start clearing it out and bit by bit the beach had its garbage sorted and thrown away. It had even become a kind of local mystery who was doing it according to her aunt who kept up to date with such things. Someone had claimed they had seen a teenager rummaging through the filth gathered upon the sand. Another saw the symbol of peace. But no one had apparently thought that the project would ever be finished. It was a vain hope...

Only it wasn't a mere wish today.

"It's cleaned".

Naomi gasped. A laugh bubbled out of her throat. She was transfixed and delighted all at once. She had never looked forward to seeing the heap of rubble and refuse whenever her run slowly came to an end. But today the sight was beautiful. The sand at the beach was a pure white - as fine as anything she had ever seen upon pictures and postcards. Waves from an ocean she had hardly even known was there lapped at the shore. And in the distance the sun was painting the sky lilac and orange as it rose over the horizon. It was a breathtaking scene.

Naomi walked over to the stairway which lead down onto the beach. She leaned her whole weight upon the railing and breathed in the salty air. It was just the kind of thing she needed. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the murmur of the ocean.

Until she heard a squeak.

Naomi looked up, and then down the side toward the stairway. It wasn't a long one, merely a few steps down, and she could easily see what had caused the sound. Two people stood at the foundation of the stairway, one of them tall and the other shorter. She arched an eyebrow. Surprised. She was usually the only one awake and about at such an early hour. Her aunt and Jana being exceptions merely because both of them were workaholics. Though she could easily be considered into that category as well.

Her aunt had already left for work an hour ago. Forced to take an early shift because of a troublesome client.

The first of the two was a short, young boy with a startled expression upon his face. He looked to be around her age. But seemed much more timid. He had dark, almost green, unruly hair which brushed at his face and ears, and wide green eyes. Naomi instantly thought he must have been terribly cold, because he was wearing nothing save for a simple white t-shirt and a pair of loose moss green sweatpants. It was still winter.

Behind the boy stood a tall, blonde man with sunken in eyes and a scrawny stature. He very nearly looked sickly. It was almost as though he was dying and all the life had slowly been sucked out of his body, leaving a shell of a man behind. He was dressed in a pair of far too large jeans and an oversized black coat. It was an odd sight but all the same he looked a bit familiar. Still…

Maybe she'd seen him sometime at the train station?

Naomi smiled politely and motioned toward the stairway. "Sorry, am I in your way?".

It was a startling question to the young boy who frantically shook his head. He mumbled something incoherently. It was the only reply she got as the two of them slowly made their way up the stairs and passed the young girl.

Naomi frowned. She hadn't said something strange, right?

She furrowed her eyebrows as a bizarre idea began to form in her head. It was weird that they were at the beach this early, wasn't it? Especially when the place was infamous for being a garbage dumping ground. So, they couldn't be...could they?

"Wait!"

Naomi called out to the two beach visitors just as they passed her. Both of them were startled and froze up. As though caught doing something bad. But the taller of the two quickly recovered and turned around to greet her - the young boy following his lead shortly after.

Naomi faltered for a moment. "I just...are you the one who've cleaned the beach?"

It was a strange idea. Because the two of them didn't look like they could haul a single tire between them much less a whole car, and there had been three whole vehicles among the rubble last she saw. She was maybe being too ready to judge. She didn't know them. But Naomi had seen men considered large - considered strong. Back in the states nearly everybody towered over her and most notably among those the muscular men. It was hardly surprising that those giants of men stood out as memorable to her. But these two did not fit the pattern no matter how she turned and bent the puzzle piece.

Maybe it was a quirk?

The taller of the two unexpectedly elbowed his companion. He looked at the green haired boy, encouraging him, and motioned toward the girl. The boy looked up, then back at the girl. And suddenly he nodded frantically. An affirmative.

Naomi's eyes widened. She looked out over to the beach and then again back at the two beach visitors. The two beach cleaners. "Really? That's amazing!".

The taller one grinned good naturedly as the green haired boy fumbled with his fingers. His ears turning red as he flushed.

He cleared his throat and mumbled out a modest 'thank you'.

"Not at all", Naomi said frankly. She gazed out at the beach and smiled as a ray of sunlight hit the coast. It gleamed in the water almost like an angel's halo. "It's become beautiful thanks to you".

"Thank you!".

It was an ecstatic exclamation which came from the green haired boy as the compliment reached his ears. It caused him to flush further. But the beaming smile which it accompanied was enough to make anyone's day.

Naomi grinned. Waving a quick goodbye to the two garbage cleaners as they headed over the street. Their trajectory leading them in the opposite direction of her house. Absently she wondered if that was where they lived.

For a few minutes more she stood there watching the sunrise. But it was only for a few minutes as she needed to get ready for the upcoming exam. Soon she was running off again toward the house. Her pulse climbing.

Once she was at home she headed into the bathroom on the second floor for a quick shower. She washed off all the sweat and dirt, and rinsed her hair with the orange scented shampoo she so adored. It was the best of all the ones she could find. She dried herself off and pulled on her middle school uniform. As far as she understood it was just good graces to flaunt one's middle school colors where entrance exam's were concerned. Her school had a simple dark blue sailor uniform with a white cravat. It was bland and not much to flaunt at all. She would have preferred something more green.

As soon as she was dressed she gathered up the black backpack she had packed the night before, grabbed her phone as well as her headphones, and headed down the stairs. Jana was waiting by the front door. She was dressed in her black double-breasted jacket and a red scarf clung to her neck.

" _Done?"_

Naomi nodded. She took her own dark green bomber jacket off the wall hanger and put it on, zipping it up all the way before grabbing the green beanie stuffed into the jacket's left side pocket. She put that on as well. Then she gave another nod toward the older woman.

Jana smiled. " _Let's get going then_ ".

* * *

It was a tedious car ride from the house to the prestigious school. An hour's worth of driving at the very least, and there was little to do as entertainment other than to sing along with the music played over the car speakers. It was a small consolation that she had been given the chance to choose the songs. But Naomi was hardly aware of the choices she was making as she rode shotgun. She was too nervous. Too ecstatic.

Soon the first building the school owned came into view over the trees along the road. It was almost a skyscraper - no, four in one. A towering glass encased building made up of four parts and four walkways across one another. It was a giant among buildings.

Jana whistled. Her hands gently guiding the steering wheel as the road curved. " _Well, I knew they were rich, but damn that's an impressive building_ ".

" _Yeah_ ", Naomi agreed.

She had read somewhere that the school owned a lot of land. And because of that it was almost its own city in a way. The benefactors supposedly threw so much money into the school that some speculated it was somehow illegal. She didn't understand how they would have remained open however if that was the case. There were very few parents who would let their children study at such a place after all. Especially since they were supposed to raise young hero-wannabes into proper professional ones. It was likely the ones who were most jealous of the institution who had started the rumor in the first place.

Naomi yawned. Her eyes scanning the treelines for any other buildings which might belong to the school. " _You know they own three stadiums too?_ "

Jana's eyes widened. " _I thought they just rented them for the festivals_ ".

Naomi shook her head.

It was a popular event even beyond the country's borders; the school's famous sport festival. She had even watched it once or twice back in the states as it had been broadcasted. It was a ferocious tournament pitting student against student, and quirk against quirk, with the gold medal and fame as the prize. For many people - especially in japan - the tournament had replaced the olympics as a piece of entertainment for the whole family to watch and cheer for as the latter had grown rather dull after the emergence of the quirk factor and cheating became rampant. It was more, in a word; exciting.

Of course, in any tournament as fierce as the UA sports festival there were dangers, and the only one reason the school was able to host such a tournament in the first place without mayor backlash was because of a certain hero who worked there tirelessly. _Recovery Girl_. Naomi hoped she would get to meet the famous healer sometime during the day. She was a big fan of her work during her days of active duty.

Jana drove the car further up the road until it curved into a crossroad. There were a few signs erected along the intersection, pointing to different faculties at the school and how far away they were. But straight ahead stood the large glass encased building previously seen over the treetops. It was surrounded on all sides by a large security fence. At least four times her own height and made of a massive concrete. A sizable archway opened up the fence for any incoming students and visitors, and at its head it had the school initials displayed for all the world to see. Naomi bit at her lip. Her shoulders tensed as a thrill of excitement raced down her back. She exhaled slowly.

Jana turned the car around and parked - temporarily - in front of the entrance. It was already filling up with students from all over the country. Naomi would be only one among a thousand at least who tried out the exam.

" _You'll be fine_ ", Jana said. She shut the car engine off and looked at the young girl. Her warm brown eyes scanning the girl for any signs of a nervous collapse. " _I promise_ ".

Naomi smiled. Much calmer than she had been only a few hours earlier. " _Yeah, yeah_ ".

Jana seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. Her brows furrowing as she tried to think something up. But after a moment's of hesitation she realized something. " _Hey, I'll be making some gorditas tonight, you want something extra in yours?_ ".

Naomi's eyes widened. Her eyes lighting up in delight. _Gorditas_ were a mexican pastry made with dough which could be stuffed with just about anything from cheese to meat, to vegetables, and was then often fried. It was Naomi's favorite dish. But only if Jana was the one making them. She was the only one who made sure they were spicy enough.

" _Just some chili. Make it extra spicy_ ".

Jana nodded. Grinning. " _Always do_ "

Naomi nodded as well. Satisfied. She took a hold of the straps of her backpack and put her hand on the door handle. She was just about to open the door when a grip on her arm made her pull back. Naomi looked back at the older woman. Confused.

Jana kissed the top of her head. " _Love you, conejito_ ".

Naomi hummed. She smiled blissfully. It was a nice gesture. Encouraging. She opened the door and stepped out of the car. Her asparagus green sneakers meeting hard concrete and a single dried up leaf upon the ground. She watched the reflection of the sun upon the hood of the car for a second. They had bought it shortly after the move since it was too difficult to take a car with them. It was a black japanese make. Together with four seats and a spacious trunk it was a perfect family vehicle. It wasn't the newest model on the market - it was actually second hand. But as long as it worked the way it was supposed to and nothing smelled weird there was nothing to complain about. It was a way to get around, nothing more.

Naomi waved at the older woman sitting in the car. She waved back, pouting slightly, and the young girl shut the door. Naomi turned around and looked up at the imposing archway and the giant four-part building behind it. Her shoulders tensed. She could hardly believe this was actually a school. It was so large up close. She gulped and took the first step onto the school grounds.

...

A car horn bellowed behind her.

Naomi jumped. Her breathing hitched and her heartbeat thundered to a screeching halt before picking up again at twice the speed. A few incoming students looked up and over to the car in surprise. Muttering to themselves. One glared.

Naomi slowly turned around again. Her shoulders tense.

She hissed. " _What?!_ "

Jana had rolled down the passenger seat window and was leaning awkwardly out of the car. Her chin resting upon her folded arms. She was grinning impishly.

" _What do you mean what? No kiss goodbye, no I love you too?"._

Naomi's eyes twitched. " _Are you serious?_ ".

" _Completely. I'm starving for affection here_ ", Jana drawled. She nodded her head as though she was agreeing to something unsaid. Her eyebrow raised mockingly. " _You gotta say it back_ ".

" _You gotta be kidding me…_ ", Naomi groaned. She felt a rush of embarrassment coil in her stomach as a few kids her age passed and looked at her funnily. They looked over to the car and whispered something among themselves. Someone laughed.

" _Say it conejito_ ", Jana laughed. She wasn't bothered at all. It was quite the opposite. She was enjoying it all immensely judging by the growing grin upon her lips. " _Otherwise who knows what might happen to that pretty, signed basketball of yours. I'm a big fan of the warriors too you know_ ".

Naomi paled. " _You wouldn't dare…_ ".

Carefully laid out on top of one of the shelves in her room lay a very special basketball with names and signatures written out in a black marker upon its surface. She had gotten it when she was twelve. Her aunt had somehow managed to secure three tickets to a match between the golden state warriors and the los angeles lakers, and in the middle of it all a player had accidentally gotten the ball out of bounds. Naomi had been the one to catch it, and because the player who had gotten it out of bounds was a warrior and he saw she was wearing one of their t-shirts he had gotten the team to sign the stray basketball in the break before giving it as a gift to a loyal fan. It had been the most exciting event in her life at the time - despite the fact that the game had to be called off later due to illegal quirk usage during the play.

Naomi would only ever hand over that basketball when her body was still and cold in the ground. But the older woman could be devious with her so-called pranks. Sometimes the young girl wondered who was the adult between the two.

Jana shrugged. " _Maybe, maybe not_ ".

" _That's low, Nana_ ", Naomi frowned. She marched up to the car with purposeful steps. Her eyes narrowed in mock outrage. It wasn't a serious threat - the older woman would at most hide away the basketball for a day or two - but that was enough to get results. " _I love you, but you're not taking my basketball_ ".

Jana closed her eyes. Enjoying her indisputable victory. " _That's all I wanted"_

Naomi made an ugly grimace. " _You better make a hella good gordita tonight. Otherwise I'm suing_ ".

Jana laughed. She opened her eyes and smiled. It was not one of her mocking grins but rather something genuine. " _Hmm, I'll make it extra spicy, don't you worry_ ".

Naomi knocked trice at the roof of the car. She bent down and kissed the older woman on the cheek. For a moment savoring the comforting smell of her perfume. It smelled like home - and something like apples.

" _Bye, Nana_ ".

Jana nodded. " _Good luck_ ".

Naomi stepped away from the car and watched as the older woman rolled up the passenger seat window. She waved again. Jana saluted her, and soon the car engine grunted alive. It drove away with a resonant growl.

Naomi sighed.

She turned around.

"What are you people staring at?".

A few incoming students had stayed around to watch the spectacle of the girl and the car with the loud horn. She didn't know what she had expected. But she didn't appreciate the sudden attention. It was enough with nerves bristling beneath her skin because of the entrance exam. She didn't need public humiliation added into the mixture as well for the sole reason that her aunt's girlfriend thought it was a good way to cheer her up. Of course there was the fact that it had worked, somewhat, but that was another can of worms entirely. It had nothing to do with the nosy witnesses.

At her blunt question however most of the curious onlookers went on their way and ignored the pink haired girl. Some whispered to their friends and sneaked a look back at her. Naomi ignored them to the best of her ability. Another grimace working its way onto her face.

Once again she was about to step onto the grounds of the school when something caused her to stop. A gloved hand landed upon her shoulder.

 _It's just one fucking thing after another._

"Araya".

Naomi looked to her side and arched an eyebrow. It was one of her classmates. A black haired, plain looking teenager with blue eyes and a crooked smile upon his face. She couldn't remember his name at all even though she knew exactly what kind of person he made himself out to be. He was one of the kids who sat at the back of the class and always made a nuisance of himself and disturbed his neighbours. A kid who had garnered just a little bit of fame for being a conceited loudmouth around everything and anyone.

 _Just my luck..._

Her classmate opened his mouth. "That was your aunt right? You mentioned something about that in class didn't you?".

Naomi blinked. She opened her own mouth to retort. But she didn't manage to get a word out before the classmate started to blabber again. His words spewing out of his mouth like a waterfall.

"A bit scary isn't she? You two don't really look alike you know? Are you even related? What are you even doing here by the way, you're not actually trying out for the hero course at UA are you? What was your quirk again?"

Naomi raised her eyebrow further. "Hah?".

 _What was that supposed to mean? Scary? Of course they weren't related! What?!_

As though he had just made a good point the nuisance nodded to himself. He looked out over the walkway up to the front doors of the school. "Well, I guess that's that then. It was good seeing you classmate. I guess you're gonna need a good luck to get through this though, huh? It's supposed to be really difficult. I've been studying hard of course so I won't really have any issues I think. Besides the practical is supposed to be the same as last year, at least from what I heard. Mind you what I hear is often true. I guess it runs in the family. Did you know that my uncle went here?".

Naomi zoned out. She had neither the time for a simple nod nor a determined shake, before he went off into a tirade again. This time talking about his uncle, who was apparently a professional hero. It took at least a few minutes before the teenager with the big mouth and no filter considered himself finished with the conversation. He then walked off into the building without so much as a mention of goodbyes or a good luck.

Naomi twitched. _What in all the fucks of the world was that?_

She could officially consider herself lucky to always be seated at the front of the class. It had always been a point of annoyance since the move that the seats in the classrooms were assigned in order of their surnames. She was an Araya. She would always sit at the front and be questioned first by the lazy teacher. But now she only pitied the poor soul who was forced to be that loudmouth's seatmate at the back. Imagine hearing that day in and day out. She would have gone mad.

Naomi sighed. She gripped the straps of her backpack tighter and once again took in the glass encased building. It was still amazing. She looked at the clock above the center of the front doors. It was diligently counting down the minutes. _Almost time.._.

Only a few more minutes remained until everybody was expected to be seated in the main lecture hall and the coordination would begin. Soon thereafter the written part of the exam would start as well. She still had no idea on what would happen at the practical. It would remain a mystery until the school deemed it fit to be revealed.

Naomi felt a flutter in her stomach. She bit at her lip and swung her backpack over her shoulder. Adjusting the strap until it felt comfortable. _It's now or never_. She moved up the walkway. Her sneakers carrying her steadily forward until she reached the large front door and pulled it open. She walked through the door with her heart in her throat and the backpack hanging over her shoulder in a tight grip.

She walked through the door…

And straight into someone's back.

She hadn't watched where she was going. Instead of looking straight ahead where most would look as they walked she had watched the wall on her left side because there were pictures of previous classes there. Students who were now working as professional heroes. It was exciting. She was too blinded by her own amazement at the many heroes as young students to notice the person before her. It was like walking into a wall. Whoever it was she had walked into was wearing a coal black student uniform and had a back made of concrete.

She stumbled and hastily apologized. "Ah, sorry, sorry".

Naomi took a quick step back and looked up to see exactly _who_ she had walked into. She met carmine red eyes. A sneering expression. All rough edges, tense muscles, and spiky sand-blonde hair. It was the face of someone she doubted she would forget anytime soon. If nothing else because he looked so angry.

Naomi tensed. _Did I already fuck up, again?_

"Watch where you're fucking going".

Naomi nodded. Absolutely agreeing to the statement. She _should_ have watched where she was going. But instead she had acted like an amazed idiot. She wouldn't have liked being walked into either.

She smiled for good measure. "Sorry"

The red-eyed stranger growled. "Tch, whatever"

Naomi made to move away from the angry teenager when a thought struck her mind. It was always better to leave with a good impression than to arrive with one. At least her aunt always told her that.

"Hey, you know you've got really cool eyes, yeah?", Naomi said. She grinned and gave the boy a thumbs-up. "It's a good thing to have for a hero. Makes you stand out. So good luck with the exam!"

The red-eyed stranger scowled. "I don't need your fucking luck".

Naomi frowned.

The red-eyed stranger with the bad attitude shoved past her and into the cluster of students moving through. Vanishing among the masses. All of them were heading deeper into the building with their course set for the main lecture hall.

Naomi adjusted the backpack and moved in after a pair of blue haired twins. She decided she just wasn't having any luck with people today. And her mind slowly turned from the angry boy toward her immediate future within the school grounds.

There was still a long day ahead of her. Who knew what the school had in store for her during the exam?

* * *

 _ **A/N: That was chapter two! Our main character gets a bit stressed, makes a mess in the kitchen and we meet her energetic aunt++. She's a really fun character to write, mostly because of her relationship with the Arayas, and Naomi specifically. She's almost like a big sister in a way. We'll see how it all develops in the future. That'll be interesting.**_

 _ **Also, I kind of foreshadowed a couple of other OC's which we'll meet later on. Let's see if any of you remember them at that point!**_

 _ **I think you can guess though that one of them talks a lot. Don't worry. He won't always be a douchebag. I have things planned out.**_

 _ **Pressing on, thank you all for the really nice reception! In future chapters I'll be answering all of the reviews and comments at the end of the text but right now I really gotta run! So sorry about that! I still appriciate each and every one of your comments, favorites and follows, and I look forward to recieving more!**_

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **P**_ _ **lease R &R!**_


	3. Chapter 3: A Robotic Struggle

_**A/N: So...I am probably the worst fanfic writer ever. I told you all I was going to upload this on friday. I was going to keep a weekly friday schedule. I am so sorry about that. Can't even hold that promise for a week. That's just fucking clumsy.**_

 _ **In my defense though this chapter kinda spiralled out of control. I've almost doubled the word count from the last two chapters alone and by god it's a dousey. I hope you're all happy. This chapter is a massive 11k words. I think I almost died.**_

 _ **On another note; for the sake of reading comprehension and because I'm not sure I made it absolutely clear in the other chapters, I've now added a little bit at the beginning of each chapter which explains how I'm using the text in relation to the different languages the main characters use. I hope this clears some things up for those of you who were confused.**_

 _ **Anyhow, let's move on with the chapter!**_

* * *

 _ **Warnings for:** Swearing, Blood and Violence._

* * *

"This means someone is talking"

 _These are thoughts._

 _"_ _This means someone is talking in english - or español_ "

" **This means someone is being very loud!** "

" _ **This means someone is being very loud in english - or español**_ "

* * *

 _ **Chapter 3**_

 _ **A Robotic Struggle**_

* * *

 _I always had a repulsive need to be something more than human. - David Bowie_

* * *

After four hours of writing she was exhausted. Naomi could have never guessed that there was so much knowledge floating around in her brain. So much intricate wisdom. Her hand ached from the way she had gripped her pen as she wrote out her answers to the countless number of questions the exam gave her, and she could feel the beginnings of a headache form at the back of her head. She was tempted to use her quirk just to alleviate some of the pain. But the practical was just around the corner. They were all just waiting for the new coordinator to appear.

It had been the principal who had greeted them the first time around before the written part of the exam had been initiated. He was a funny little thing; an intelligent rodent-like creature who talked a lot about his fur but also spoke carefully about the exam and the school's ideals overall. It had been an interesting coordination for the written exam. But for the practical there would be someone else taking the helm and guiding the blind students toward the next task. Whoever it was that was supposed to come around she suspected was late however. Almost an hour had already passed since the students had handed in their exam booklet. At least they had gotten some subsistence in the form of very well made sandwiches and some juice in the meantime. Naomi had almost swallowed hers whole. She had always been a person who ate with gusto. Her active lifestyle and the fact that her quirk used her own energy to convert into the neon-like substance which could heal people, always made her need more food. It was one of the side effects of the quirk. She was almost always hungry.

"Hey, hey, what do you think we'll be doing for the practical, Araya? I heard it would be the same thing as last year but I didn't really bother to ask what that was. I overheard someone talk about fighting one another like in the sports festival though. I wonder if were actually going to do that. I think it would be interesting".

Naomi almost groaned. She turned to her loudmouthed seatmate. "Aren't we too many participants here for that to work though? How are they going to be able to grade everyone like that?".

She had been unlucky. Since there had only been two participants from their specific school at the entrance exam the two of them had been forced to sit next to each other. It was unfair really. Her loudmouthed classmate simply wouldn't quiet down. Even as they had been writing the exam the black haired boy from this morning - whose name she still couldn't remember - wouldn't stop muttering. Someone sitting behind them had even told him to quiet down, but he had simply started to whisper to himself instead. She wondered if he was simply nervous and because of that made more of a nuisance of himself than he had to. If that was the case she wished he could at least be honest about that. Instead of sneaking in not-so subtle brags into every sentence he spoke - either that or he was insulting someone. Honestly she wasn't even so bothered with him talking so much. It made him memorable in an odd way. It was the way he talked about things which grated on her nerves.

"Hm, you have a point Araya. Were you always this thoughtful? You seemed more of the loud and boisterous type when we were in class".

Naomi sighed. _If we're talking about the pot calling the kettle black..._

She opened her mouth to retort when suddenly the lights in the lecture hall were turned off, and the whole room was doused in an oppressive darkness. Naomi shut her mouth and looked over to the podium as the chatter all around her quieted down.

It was more of a stage than a lecture podium. With an elevated platform the size of a playground football field and three enormous screens as backdrops it looked more like a theater stage than what a school should use as a lecture hall. It was a bit excessive. But to a school which always strived for the excessive it fit like a glove.

A spotlight turned on. Its limelight casting stark shadows within the room as it focused upon the podium. It illuminated a figure as he stepped onto the stage. He was extravagant. A wild looking person clad in black leathers and sunglasses - though they were inside -, with golden blonde hair which spiked upwards in a large tuft and a permanent cocky grin plastered onto his face. He moved up to the podium. And once there...

" **Welcome to today's live performance!** "

The coordinator hadn't even used the microphone attached to the podium. Still his voice had echoed loudly throughout the lecture hall. To anyone who knew their heroes it was obvious why that was. It was hard not to recognize one of japan's most famous heroes - if nothing else because he made a spectacle of himself wherever he went. It didn't matter whether it was with his style or intense voice. If they were talking about being loud and boisterous; _Present Mic_ took the cake every time.

Only _All Might_ could ever hope to outdo the voice hero in notability - and that was because of his sheer presence alone. The voice hero was simply too loud.

" _ **Everybody say 'hey'!**_ "

Although the coordinator had expected a reply; what followed was an almost deafening silence. It was however an 'almost'. Within the silence of the lecture hall the pink haired girl was the only one who uttered a quiet greeting.

"Hey…".

Naomi almost groaned. Her voice had been like the drop of a needle in the room. All too clear when nothing else made a sound. It caused a few people around her to chuckle. She was becoming more and more certain that she was losing her favour with lady luck drastically. Situations just didn't seem to play out the way she expected them to. She certainly hadn't imagined she would be the only one to greet the renowned voice hero when he asked for it. _Am I really the only one raised on good manners here?_

Her seatmate leaned over. Whispering. "You sure are energetic today, Araya. Are you sure you didn't have too much coffee this morning? You like that stuff too, right?"

Naomi subsequently let out a grunt. _I'm too exhausted for any of this bullshit_.

" **Well, that's cool, my examinee** _ **listeners**_ **!** ", Present Mic bellowed. He motioned erratically with his hands as the huge screens behind him were turned on - relighting the room in a dim blue glow as the displays showed the school's initials to a backdrop of sky blue. " **You're all very excited! I can just feel the tension in the air! But do not worry! I'm here to present the guidelines for your practical!** _**Are you ready?!**_ "

The professional hero awaited a roaring reply. But yet again none came. The whole of the lecture hall was doused in an awkward silence. As though all of the students were holding their breaths.

This time even Naomi made sure to bite her tongue and keep her silence. _If no one else has any manners around here, then screw 'em I guess._

Present Mic cleared his throat. " **You're a hard to please audience! I hope you'll be more entertained by this next part then! This is how the test will go!** "

Naomi tensed. She watched intently as the screens behind the hero changed to a simple map over the area. It highlighted seven different areas not too far off from the main building which were all assigned a letter.

 _It's almost like a map in an rpg…_

" **You'll be experiencing ten-minute-long 'mock cityscape maneuvers', and you can bring along whatever you want! After this presentation, you'll each head to your assigned testing location!** "

Naomi furrowed her eyebrows. She looked down toward the single sheet of paper laying on top of the table in front of her. It was the information sheet they had received along with the booklet for their written exam. On top of the paper lay her temporary student id which they had all gotten before entering the lecture hall. She scanned that one quickly and found the letter she was assigned. It was the area marked with an _e_.

Her seatmate leaned over and looked at her papers. He frowned. "Ah, we are not going to the same place. I won't be able to help you out then, Araya".

Naomi hummed. It wasn't all that surprising that they had separated the students from the same school for the very same reason which her seatmate mentioned. As an examinee you were supposed to stand upon your own two legs and impress the school with your own wit and prowess. It was especially important when considering the practical for the hero course.

Naomi watched as the screens behind the renowned hero shifted into another set of pictures which were supposed to guide the students forward through the task ahead. It depicted one of the cityscapes they were supposed to maneuver through along with silhouettes of some kind all assigned different amounts of points. To many of the students around her this was something to be curious about and they began to whisper to their neighbours about what they thought these pictures meant. But instead of feeling curious about the next step in the exam there was a slow feeling of dread building up within her stomach. The silhouettes looked almost like robots. _Please don't be robots.._.

Present Mic continued with the explanation. " **Each site is filled with three kinds of** _ **faux villains.**_ **Points are awarded for defeating each according to their respective difficulty levels!** ".

Naomi glanced to the sheet of information they had received to confirm her fears. It too depicted the very same robot like silhouettes the screens at the very front of the lecture hall displayed. Naomi swallowed. _Shit. Fuck. Doublefuck._

" **Use your quirks to disable these faux villains...and earn points! That's your goal, listeners!** "

Naomi bit at her lip.

Present Mic wagged his finger. " **Of course, playing the anti-hero and attacking other examinees is prohibited!** "

Naomi felt suddenly sullen. _Not that it matters. I won't have the time to even think about having a go at the other students. I'm more likely to break my arm than to even rack up a couple of points here. Shit. What am I gonna do?_

"May I ask a question?".

A student only a few rows ahead had suddenly stood up from his seat. His hand was raised high into the air and the slick white uniform he was dressed in was a noticeable divergence from the usual black, blue and greens many of the other students there wore. It gave of the impression that he was some kind of proper model student. Naomi could only see the back of his head from where she sat but she did notice that he was rather tall. At the very least she was sure he was taller than she was. Not that it was something to shout about. Most people were taller than she was.

Present Mic pointed to the student. " **Okay!** "

"Thank you", the student said. He bowed respectfully before continuing on with his question. "There appear to be no fewer than **four** varieties of faux villains on this handout! Such a blatant error, if it is one, is highly unbecoming for UA, japan's top academy, when we're all here today in the hopes of being molded into model heroes!"

Naomi glanced down to her own handout. It was true. There were actually four silhouetted robots on the handout instead of the three displayed on the screens at the front of the lecture hall. Although the student was also probably being to hasty in his assertions. _Present Mic isn't finished with the explanation yet. Just be more patient._

The student continued. "Also, there are some people here who have been very loud during the examination. It is frankly very disturbing that there are those who would treat this all as some kind of game while the rest of us are very seriously working toward our future. You with the curly hair! You for instance have been muttering this whole time...it's distracting!".

Naomi couldn't see who the student had pointed toward. There was a tall muscular something with multiple arms sitting between her and the accused fellow student. But he did point toward someone, and on her end she was sure that at least one of the people the model student was referring to was her own seatmate. She felt bad. It was true that the whispering and muttering could be distracting...but it was still not doing anyone any real harm. Some people simply thought better out loud. Jana was one of those people - though she wasn't as obnoxious as the seatmate.

A feeble apology could be heard over the hushed chatter which emerged due to the complaints of the white uniformed student. But that was enough for the pink haired girl. It was always horrible being singled out like that. It was nothing short of humiliating.

"Hey, how about you give them a break?", Naomi called out over the lecture hall. Her voice was steady and clear. She sounded surprisingly calm even to her own ears, despite how she currently felt about the practical. _It just had to be robots_. "I'm sure we all have different ways of dealing with the stress here. It's a tense situation after all, don't blame people for getting nervous".

The white uniformed student glanced back toward where the pink haired girl sat. Her seatmate made a startled noise which she ignored and smiled instead. She waved kindly to the student a few rows over to assure him that she wasn't being malicious. He nodded back.

 _He's wearing glasses..._

At the podium Present Mic nodded as well. He made a dramatic expression. " **Alright, alright. Examinee 7111,** _ **nice catch.**_ **Thanks! But the fourth faux villain variety gets you zero points! He's more of an obstacle!** ".

Naomi frowned. _A robot that's just an obstacle, what's that about?_

" **Young** _ **listeners**_ **! Have you all ever played the old retro game,** _ **Super Mario Brothers**_ **?** ".

Naomi could vaguely remember her aunt telling her about a game she played when she was younger with a name like that. But it did nothing to jog her memory about what it was in relation to anything. She didn't even know what kind of game it was. _Maybe a side-scroller? Or a fighting game?_ Her aunt didn't even really play any games anymore. She was too busy with work.

" **It's kind of like a** _ **thwomp**_ **! There's only one at each site! A 'gimmick' that'll rampage around in close quarters!** "

 _Thwomp?_ Naomi imagined a block of something heavy jumping up and down as it tried to crush pixelated students from above. It sent a chill down her spine. It couldn't be something like that, could it?

The white uniformed student a few rows down thanked the renowned hero for his explanation of the fourth obstacle and bowed respectfully. He sat down and said nothing more. Naomi turned her attention back toward the hero. Though it was hard not to pay attention when he opened his mouth again.

" **That's all from me! I'll leave my** _ **listeners**_ **with our school motto!** ", the hero exclaimed. He motioned with his hands again as a wide grin appeared on his face. It looked as though he was silently laughing about something no one else knew. " **The great hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said…'true heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life!'"**

Naomi furrowed her brows. She wasn't very good at history. It was obvious from her struggle with the parts of the written exam which asked the students to detail some historical events concerning the emergence of quirks - she had needed at least forty minutes to think that one through. But from what she could remember... _Wasn't Napoleon just a warmongering tyrant? To call him a 'great hero'..._

Although the historical accuracy of a throwaway detail was the least of her worries at the moment she couldn't say she disagreed with the citation. It was something encouraging. Something to give those in doubt some hope. Naomi felt that she needed it desperately. _It just had to be robots…_

Still the next words the voice hero said were even better. It was the school motto as well as the words the greatest hero and symbol of peace said whenever he strived to go beyond his limits. _To rise above_. It sent a pleasant thrill down the pink haired girl's spine.

" **Plus Ultra! Break a leg, everyone!"**

* * *

 _Okay, okay, so how am I going to do this?_ Robots. Robots. Robots. There were no squishy things for her to punch and she doubted the metal the machines were made of would break over a few punches from some small human with no extra force behind her swing. It was really a hopeless situation she had found herself within. She couldn't really fight against robots with her paradoxical quirk. It was too impractical and practical at once. But Naomi wouldn't let that get her down. She couldn't. She had to try at the very least.

 _If you give in to despair, that's when you've already lost._

…

 _C'mon you can do this!_

It had been a short bus ride over to the examination grounds they had been assigned to and standing in front of the gates to the mock-cities was rather intimidating. It was something monstrous. She hadn't thought the rumours about the school grounds at UA being the size of a small city were meant to be taken literally - nevertheless they definitely were literal. In fact it seemed like the school actually owned _several_ different cities. Judging by the many exam locations and the fact that the mock-cities were in fact actual cities with buildings, roads and structures so tall they could almost be classified as skyscrapers. Albeit the areas weren't the size of something like a capital. It was as though the school had carved out a single district of a city and simply copy-pasted it onto the school grounds several times over. It was amazing.

Naomi tilted her head this way and that, working out the kinks in her body, as she watched the students gaze at the area in awe. She couldn't blame them as she was bewildered as well. It was downright crazy what the school had managed. But Naomi was trying to contain her amazement in favour of readying herself for the incoming storm. It was hard. She really just wanted to run around and explore. To find the hidden corners and secrets the school held secluded within their walls. She was too curious. Naomi bit at her lip and straightened out her tank-top. All the participants had gotten a few minutes to change into some training clothes and whatever gear they wanted to bring into the test. It had been a rush to and from the changing rooms they had been allowed to use. She felt fortunate that she hadn't brought any bulky gear with her to the entrance exam. She wouldn't have had much use for such a thing in the first place but from the way some of the girls she had changed with struggled with their equipment she couldn't help but to think it was just an unnecessary inconvenience. Naomi was wholly comfortable in her green tank-top and a pair of black cargo pants. Maybe she was being too old school - but even back in the states there had not been this abundance of gear for the everyday consumer to use. At least of what she had seen.

Naomi came to a stop with her exercises. She exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. Her whole body coming to a complete standstill while her blood pumped loudly in her ears and the chatter all around her buzzed enthusiastically. At any other time she would have liked to join in with their conversations. But she needed to have her muscles relaxed before the inevitable rush. It would be chaos once they were all passed the front gates. A real bedlam of desperate students. So she simply listened for the expected signal.

It didn't take long before it happened.

" **...And begin!** "

Naomi was the first one to move.

It was an abrupt start. Unexpected to most examinees. But without any distractions and her mind focused only on this one task she was the only one not caught within the sudden confusion which quickly followed the proclamation. As soon as the booming voice of the professional hero and their coordinator reached them she activated her quirk and rushed passed the rest of the examinees. While her quirk flared up and bristled in the air like an angry swarm of wasps she heard gasps and disoriented yells from behind. She had run through the bulk of the competing students before it bottlenecked at the entrance. With too many people rushing through a single gate at once it was bound to happen.

She grinned. _I got a head start. Good._

Naomi rushed through the main street. Her sneakers hitting hard concrete as she bolted passed building after building. _Where are the robots? How do I do this?_ She had to think of something - quickly. Her temporary head start would only last so long and she did not doubt that there were people there who excelled at these kinds of fights. She was never so lucky as to have no competition at all - and that wouldn't be any fun either. But at least she hadn't seen the angry blonde from this morning. He seemed like the kind of trouble she really could do without at the moment. She turned a corner -

And was met with a robot.

 _Score!_

It was a three pointer right out of the gates. A bulky, massive thing with metal plates the size of car wheels and two missile launchers upon its shoulders. It had a large three painted upon its side and was sporting her favorite colour to boot - though it was in the wrong shade. All things considered it almost looked like a war tank.

The robot screeched. " **Target locked! Prepare for termination!** "

Naomi grinned. "We'll see about that".

It didn't give her anymore time to think or even breathe. As soon as she had managed to say her mind about her imminent destruction the robot surged forward and launched two missiles straight at the pink haired girl. She let out a yelp. Her body lunging away from the projectiles out of pure instinct. There was an explosion. She rolled to the side just in time to only catch a little debris from the blast. But even after that she barely even got a second to recover before the robot slammed one of its unwieldy hands right on top of her. She managed to lunge to the side in the last second. Avoiding it within a hair's breadth.

It was lucky. She suddenly felt so blessed that she had a neighbour with whom she could spar and train together with whenever she wanted to. Otherwise she would have been dead on her feet. _What kind of school sends killer robots after their examinees?!_

Naomi avoided yet another projectile which exploded into the building behind her. Her feet skidding to a halt right in front of the massive robot. She grit her teeth. _A three pointer right out of the gates! Fantastic! Fuck me!_

She narrowed her eyes. Scrutinizing the massive form of metal and gears and wires. _C'mon everything's been like a game this far...where's its weak spot?!_

Naomi's eyes widened. _Oh...that's...it has to be!_

She tensed. Her muscles bracing themselves for what was to come.

It was a rather ironic thing that the pink haired girl with the short stature had a favorite sport such as basketball. It was a sport which almost demanded height. So it was more than a little surprising that not only did she like it but she was actually rather good at it. She was so good in fact that height didn't even matter anymore. But there was only one reason for that. It was because… if there was one thing she knew how to do better than the average person; it was to jump.

So…

Naomi jumped.

She flew through the air and landed upon the robot's head. It was an odd little thing but enough to stand upon. As the robot flailed about with its arms - it couldn't quite reach her - she vaulted over to its hulking and unsteady back. It took a bit of flailing on her part, but she did manage to get out of the way of the missile launchers, and as she looked to her right, she saw it. _I was right! It's got a junction box!_

At first glance it looked like there had been a mistake in the welding of the metal plates. It was only a single uneven patch among a dozen of plates upon the robot. But the small warning sign for electricity gave it away. She didn't know a lot about machinery. It was too complicated to get behind in her mind - she liked things easy and accessible. But what little she did know was that every piece of machinery had a junction box, a gearbox or a whatever box, to protect the fragile wiring and electronics within. It was something she had discovered once when a friend of hers tried to fix her broken PlayStation X10. It still wouldn't work after that, but at least she had learned something useful.

Naomi pulled her hand back as the other held on desperately to the plating to keep her balance. She focused her quirk on her hand. It hissed with green energy. _This is going to hurt…_

She punched the junction box with all her might. Her knuckles screamed out in pain and a string of agony travelled up her arm like a thousand needles stabbing into her skin. But the metal buckled. It tore at the seams. And soon enough her fist was deeply embedded into the machines wiring. Something else had broken with her blow and the robot instantly stilled. It was dead.

Naomi grit her teeth. " _Descanse_ _en paz, tu tonto del culo..._ ".

 _Rest in peace…you idiot asshole._

Naomi pulled her arm out of the machinery and sighed. She watched the skin on her arm which had been torn by the sharp metal weave itself back together as her quirk did its job. Although she sometimes wished she had a quirk which was more battle oriented there was nothing better than the feeling of pain slowly ebbing away due to something only she could do. It was certainly better than having to endure it for large amounts of time until something or someone could mend the damage. She grinned. _No time to rest. Gotta get going again._

She jumped down from the carcass of the robot. Her feet landed upon the concrete just as a loud crash resounded throughout the area. Naomi looked up. Startled.

Not one. Not even two. But three robots had just crashed through the building behind her and the remains of the three pointer. It was two one pointers and yet another three pointer. Furthermore all of them had just zeroed in on her position. The three robots screeched.

" **Terminate!** "

Naomi's eyes widened. _Fuck!_

She didn't get the chance to move however. Before she could even re-engage her quirk to ready herself for any incoming attacks two blurs shot past her. It was two boys. One wore a blue bandana and had black hair, and the other was equally black headed though he somehow suddenly looked as though he had turned to solid rock. Both of them fearlessly went after the three robots. Naomi bit at her lip. It was the other examinees. They had already caught up to her. _Shit. There goes my head start._

One of the boys yelled. "This one's mine!"

It instantly turned into a raging battle over the three robots.

Naomi didn't stay to watch. She turned and ran down another street. Keeping her eyes and ears open for any incoming robots. Truthfully she had hoped she could at least get two of the faux villains down before she had to worry about the competition. But not so. It was officially a free for all.

* * *

The five minutes following her encounter with the three pointer went by in a blur of debris, destroyed buildings and curses. Naomi quickly discovered that the one pointers were ridiculously easy to destroy even if they were fast. It hurt a little bit, nothing more than a sting, but the metal was so brittle she was surprised the machines didn't fall apart simply by moving. It was mostly thanks to the one pointers that she had managed to rack up a fair amount of points. Although it was nothing compared to the numbers she heard being called out by the other students all around her. She just wasn't as quick as her fellow examinees.

It was annoying.

For good measure - and because she would feel guilty otherwise - she had also stopped occasionally to heal injured participants. It wasn't a thankless job. But it wasn't especially rewarding either. She just hoped the school was paying attention. There was certainly no one else running around thinking about the other students. Someone - who she really would like to have a word with - had even stolen a robot from right under her nose. She had just about gotten it down too.

Naomi sneezed. Her punch landed upon hard metal just as the violent reaction shook her shoulders. She watched absently as the one pointer in front of her crumbled to the ground. Its throat blown clean through. It was her sixth - no - seventh one. It meant she was now up to ten points. She needed far more to get to the level at which her fellow examinees were at. It was ridiculous; the pace at which some managed to bring the robots down.

Naomi looked around herself as the dust from the stray three pointer missile settled. It had landed only a few inches from her feet. Almost scaring her to death while she was avoiding the one pointer in front of her. She had found herself in the main plaza after chasing down a robot. It turned out to be a good decision as most of the robots seemed to congregate in the area. On the other hand she wasn't the only one to discover that. Where the robots gathered, so did the students. It created a perfect battle royal arena with destruction, debris and quirks freely discharged as the main attraction. It was like a warzone.

Naomi sighed. She wiped the sweat on her face with the end of her tank-top. She had been worried about the cold for just a moment before the practical started. At the moment it was almost a laughable idea. She was almost appreciating the cold breeze despite her dislike for the cold.

Naomi turned around -

And watched as something black crashed into the side of a building.

She blanched. _W-was that a student?_

She didn't have the time to check before a robot barreled toward the wreckage. It was a two pointer. A kind of robot which almost looked like a gigantic scorpion. But it was already badly damaged. Its tail had already been severed from its body and it was barely holding itself together with a missing leg and wires showing from beneath a busted plating.

Naomi rushed up to the robot. Whether damaged or not the machine could still cause harm to an injured student. She wouldn't give it a second chance to attack.

She was lucky. As she ran up to the machine she noticed some rouge cables and wiring spitting out sparks from its underbelly. Someone had already removed the whole plating there. It was completely exposed. Naomi grinned. She picked up speed. Her feet almost skidding across the ground until she came close enough to the robot that it took notice. It turned around to face its new opponent. As it let out a shrill angry screech she slid beneath the machine and grabbed ahold of as many wires and cables as she could. She wrenched with all her might while her body slid across the ground. It was enough. Everything she had grabbed ahold of snapped. The robot gave out a last breath of wheezing machinery. A grinding of metal against metal. Then it toppled onto the ground.

Naomi just about managed to roll out of the way before being crushed by the heavy machinery. She stood up and dusted off her pants. Her clothes were dirty but she felt satisfied. _I guess that's two more points for me. Better check on that student though._

She walked up to the side of the building where the student had crashed. It was a complete wreckage now. At the very few places where the wall hadn't caved in upon itself there were cracks and tears. It had been blown wide open as if by some great force and the rubble and debris left from the collision lay inside the building like an enormous pillow of hard rocks and gravel. In the middle of the whole wreckage stood a boy clad in a black track suit which was dirty and almost ripped to pieces at the arms. He was muscular with short almost shoulder length black hair and sharp red eyes - one of which had a small scar above it - and to top it all off he also seemed to have very sharp teeth. It was one of the boys from earlier - with the three robots. She was certain of it.

Naomi called out to the boy. "Hey, are you alright?!"

He looked up. Startled. It took him only a second to notice her standing there by the opening in the wall but when he did he grinned and rubbed at the back of his head.

"Yeah", the boy replied. He laughed. Seemingly at himself. "Just didn't see that one coming. I'm sturdy though. Don't worry".

Naomi nodded. He was the boy from before who had almost looked like he was made of solid rock for a second. Even though she hadn't stayed around to watch it wasn't hard to guess that it was some part of his quirk. It was likely some kind of hardening ability. Though he didn't look very rock-like at the moment and she even noticed a bit of blood dripping down his arm. He was injured despite it all.

Naomi frowned. "I believe you… but that doesn't look very good though".

She pointed to his arm. He furrowed his brows - clearly confused. Until that is he noticed the blood dripping down the limb and onto the floor. It was gathering in a neat little puddle of red liquid and dusty gravel.

"Ah, I didn't even notice!", the boy exclaimed. He examined his injured arm. Wiping away a bit of the blood with a torn sleeve. He didn't seem too bothered by it all though touching the injury made him flinch. "Shit. I must've overused my quirk a little bit. I guess the robot got me".

Naomi walked into the building. Climbing over the wreckage left by the boy as he had crashed through it. It was really an amazing quirk. To be able to cause this much damage by simply colliding with something. It was something she could only really dream about. Granted she wouldn't trade her own quirk for anything in the world. She stopped in front of the boy and took a quick look at the injury. It was luckily nothing mayor. It was scraped up skin and what was likely a torn artery. But she could heal that kind of damage in a heartbeat.

Naomi smiled. "No worries. I'll fix it up for you".

"What?"

Naomi activated her quirk. It came alive in a flash as it stared to lead its usual dance over her skin like small dots of a softer kind of green lightning. She flexed her hand.

"It's my quirk. I can heal people".

The boy beamed. His sharp teeth showing. "No way! That's so cool!"

Naomi flushed at the compliment and grinned in delight. She rarely got compliments like those. Most people commented on the usefulness of the quirk. "Thanks!".

She held her hand out to the boy's injured arm. Her quirk bristled. Then she and the boy watched as the green sparks began to weave his skin back together. Soothing any pain he felt and reversing any and all damage upon the arm. Once she was finished she deactivated her quirk and watched bemusedly as the boy flexed and tested out his newly healed arm.

He laughed. "Woah, that's a really amazing quirk! I'm Kirishima by the way. Kirishima Eijiro".

Naomi hadn't been very lucky with people today - up until just now. So she felt elated that she had finally found someone she could have a normal chat with without it turning into a difficult situation. Notwithstanding the surrounding chaos of the practical exam.

"I'm Naomi… eh, Araya. Araya Naomi".

She still wasn't all too used to introducing herself with her surname.

Kirishima Eijiro beamed again. "Thanks a lot, Araya! I owe you one!"

"It's fine. It's what I do", Naomi said good naturedly. Although she again very much appreciated the compliment. Her thoughts turned back toward the exam and the robots. She opened her mouth and was just about to apologise to the boy for stealing his two point robot when -

" **Three minutes left!** "

Naomi's eyes widened. Kirishima swore gently.

Then immediately following the proclamation there was a thunderous crash. The ground shook and there was screaming outside. It was as through a bomb had gone off somewhere.

Naomi didn't waste any time. As soon as she heard the screams she turned from the boy and sprinted out of the building. Her feet skidding across the gravel. Kirishima followed after her with bated breath. Also worried.

Naomi came out of the building. And her breath caught in her throat.

 _..._

It was the zero pointer.

It was barely recognizable from the silhouette upon the information sheet. Too colossal. Too monstrous. It was like something straight out of a game. An endgame boss. A metallic harbinger of doom and destruction. It was a robot at least seven stories tall and wider than the street it was trampling through to get to the plaza. It was heading there because that was where the largest amounts of students had gathered. Many of which were now fleeing for their lives away from the robot. It was utter pandemonium.

Naomi remembered suddenly very clearly the words their coordinator had used to describe the berserking robot. What he had warned them about. _A gimmick that'll rampage around in close quarters - everything is close quarters to that thing! What the hell is the school thinking, sending out something like this on top of students?_

Naomi was rooted to the spot. It was almost mesmerizing. Watching the behemoth of a machine rage forward. It rendered every building it touched to a crumbling mess. She was stupefied by the sheer overwhelming magnitude of it all.

Until Kirishima shook her out of her stupor.

He yelled. "C'mon Araya! We gotta run!"

Naomi huffed out a breath. "Yeah…"

She turned. But as she did something caught her eye. It was just a glance. Something seemingly insignificant. Still she took a second look - just to be sure. She felt bile rise to her throat. It took everything out of her to keep her nerves steeled. Her breath felt like a far too long winded wheeze as she noticed the lone student on the ground. Soon about to be crushed by the robot's colossal feet.

A strange sense of dejavu relating back to that first night in the country overcame the pink haired girl. It was an odd feeling. She didn't think. Her feet simply moved.

" **Araya!** ".

It was a valiant effort to get her attention. But Kirishima's yell landed upon deaf ears as she bolted over the plaza. Her body tingling as her quirk flared up in a sudden flash. It was as though she was running on autopilot. She didn't think. Couldn't think. All as she watched the leg of the behemoth slowly come down upon the paralyzed examinee. Her quirk seethed.

She reached the student only a moment before he would have been trampled. Her whole body tensed up and grew taut as she took the blunt of the machine's weight onto herself. Shielding the student with her own body as she threw her arms up and met the metal plating of the monster. It was heavy. Too heavy. _Shit._

Naomi buckled beneath the weight of the robot. Her knees groaned. She felt something in her leg snap. But she couldn't find the time to care. Her quirk worked in overdrive. It pumped throughout her veins and bristled in the air as angry as she felt desperate. It was a miracle that she was even standing. Her whole body felt like it was on fire. Torn. As though she was being ripped apart at the seams. She grit her teeth. Her jaw clenching hard until she tasted blood in her mouth. _It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts._

She snarled. Her head met the metal plating of the machine's feet as her arms slowly but surely were pushed down by the mere force of the robot. It was too much. Her body would give out. Soon. _Too soon!_

Naomi showed her teeth. Her whole body quivered as she screamed. " **Could someone, please, get the fuck over here and give me a hand?!** "

"I got' ya Araya!"

A helping hand came as soon as she asked for it. It was Kirishima. She recognized his voice even through her pain. Her body straining against the pressure from the robot. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something black dash over to her side. It didn't stay and instead jumped up out of her field of view. There was a clank. It reverberated throughout the whole area as the robot trembled. It groaned as metal scraped against metal. Then suddenly the weight over her body lifted.

The behemoth shook violently as the leg it had braced itself on was severed from its body. It toppled and fell into one of the adjourning buildings. Its accompanying crash was earsplitting.

" **Time's up!** "

Naomi could barely register the announcement. She felt lightheaded. Dizzy. She exhaled once before the severed leg of the robot crashed down beside her and the paralyzed student. Her muscles were tense. Screaming out in pain. She didn't even notice it when her quirk fizzled into nothing. Her arms falling to her side just in time for her legs to give out. She fell onto the hard ground with a comparatively quiet thud.

Naomi flinched. Her breathing laboured and hard. _Ouch._

It was hard to judge just how injured she was at the moment. Absolutely everything ached or was bristling in agony. Her arms were shaking. She had even overused her quirk.

As she laid sprawled out upon the ground she looked over to the paralyzed student. He didn't look like much, a mess of brown hair, wide eyed and with barely any meat on his bones. But he wasn't injured more than a twisted right leg. Which was good - it meant she had gotten there in time to shield him from any more harm.

She smiled. "Are you alright?"

The student flinched. His eyes teary and lips quivering as he nodded slowly. He stared at her as though she had suddenly grown a third head. She must've looked like shit.

Naomi sighed. "That's good".

She closed her eyes and listened to a pair of footsteps as they came closer. Her breathing soon becoming more even as her body slowly came down from the adrenaline filled high. She opened her eyes again as a shadow came over her head. It was Kirishima. Always grinning toothily. She welcomed the friendly expression. It was nice to see while her body felt like it was on the verge of dying.

He rubbed at his shoulder and chuckled heartily. "Man, Araya, you really pulled off something manly there! I was really shocked!".

Naomi laughed. She wheezed between breaths. "Thanks...I was kinda going on instincts there. It would have been kinda awful if this guy here got crushed".

She nodded toward the student with the twisted leg. He recoiled slightly.

"Ah, man, yeah", Kirishima said and frowned. He looked over to the student and held out his hand. Offering to pull the fellow examinee off of the ground. "Are you okay?".

The student nodded silently. He took Kirishima's hand and thanked him softly. Kirishima grinned and pulled him to his feet. It caused the student to stumble. But soon enough he was standing straight. With a last mumbled 'thank you' to the other two examinees the student limped away from the wreckage of the zero pointer. Naomi felt bad for the examinee. He seemed really shaken up by the whole experience. It had to have been terrifying laying there with the robot looming from above.

Kirishima held out his hand for her to take as well. But Naomi shook her head.

"Thanks...but I think I'm just going to lay here for a bit", she said painstakingly. Her arms were still shaking violently. It didn't help that she literally couldn't even feel her feet at the moment. The ache in her body was still too intense. She couldn't imagine standing, much less walking any time soon. "I don't really think I can stand right now".

"Oh…"

"Yeah…".

Kirishima flopped onto the ground beside her. He sat himself down cross legged and smiled kindly at her. "Then I'm just gonna stay here with ya'".

Naomi chuckled. "Sure".

It didn't take long before the two of them settled into a comfortable but exhausted silence. Both of them far too caught up and wasted by the day's events to really say anything about the matter. Naomi focused on her breathing for the most part. Waiting impatiently for her body to wind down. Kirishima simply taking a breather. But soon enough both of them found their rest interrupted as a large group of the other examinees made their way up to the carcass of the zero pointer and the two students who were its downfall. They were chattering excitedly amongst themselves. Pointing. Marvelling at the colossal robot. And then at the two exhausted examinees.

Naomi almost let out a grunt. _I'm too exhausted. Just let me be. Please._

Soon enough the two of them found themselves surrounded on all sides by a large cluster of interested students asking them questions and wondering at the feat of bringing the behemoth down. Some wondering at the pink haired girl's state of incapacitation.

She tried to explain. "It's just my quirk. I over extended myself".

It was hard to keep the students on a single topic. Most of them weren't even trying to listen while they asked questions and commented on something or another. Too caught up in their own heads.

Naomi was just about to start yelling at the students when another examinee came to the rescue.

"Hey! Give the two of them some space people! You're being a bit too overbearing!"

Naomi looked up. She craned her neck and watched as a lean, ginger haired girl with teal eyes pushed her way past the other students. Her hair was long and tied up in a ponytail on her left side. Although she had sounded rather strict when she had yelled at the other students her expression was rather soft. As she finally got a good look at the pink haired girl sprawled out in the middle of the whole gathering her eyebrows furrowed and she pouted. Once she was close enough she immediately bent down to examine the girl.

"Are you alright?"

Naomi nodded. She smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine. It's just my quirk acting up because I over extended myself".

The ginger let out a sigh of relief. Her worried expression easing up. "That's good. I was worried it was something serious".

"Nah, I'm fine".

"And you?", the ginger asked. She turned over to the boy with the hardening quirk. Her eyes searched him for any apparent injuries. "Are you okay too?".

Kirishima nodded. He grinned toothily. "I'm great! She healed me up just before the zero pointer wrecked this place!".

A confused expression took over the girl's face. She frowned. "Who did what?".

Naomi grunted. A quiet chuckle bubbled out of her throat. "I did. My quirk does that when I'm not too much busted up".

"Oh", the girl sighed. She laughed. Her expression softening up into a kind smile as she came to a better understanding of the entire situation. "That's really amazing! Healing quirks are among the rarest in the industry. That's how you were able to withstand the weight of the zero pointer, wasn't it? Because you kept healing yourself?".

"...something like that", Naomi muttered. She tried to put on a confident front. But she wasn't all to sure that it worked. She really had no idea how she had been able to take the weight of that monstrous robot. Really. She should have been squished. It was a confusing miracle that she was even still breathing.

 _Maybe I can ask auntie later..._

The ginger nodded. She took no notice of the other girl's barely concealed confusion. Moving the conversation forward. "Good. Good. I'm really glad we had the two of you to bring that giant down. Otherwise Nakajima would have been a goner by now. I mean he's still in shock but that's better than dead any day".

 _Ah...so that's the guy's name._

Kirishima nodded. "Yeah. I didn't even see the guy. It's good Araya noticed him!".

Naomi frowned. "I was lucky".

The girl smiled. "Whatever it was; you two did an amazing job. It was kind of hard to believe".

There were murmurs of agreement throughout the crowd.

Naomi huffed. Her breath felt raspy in her lungs. She nodded toward the boy with the hardening quirk. "He did most of the hard work. I just tried to get in the way of someone being crushed".

Kirishima rubbed at the back of his head. His lips quirking up in a half-smile. "Yeah, but I just got its leg. It fell all on its own".

Someone from the crowd yelled. "I thought it was cool!"

A collection of shouted compliments followed. Naomi felt her stomach flutter. She flushed and suddenly considered herself lucky that it was harder to catch through her tawny skin. It was certainly not as noticable on her as it was on her companion. Kirishima had flushed into a colour almost matching his eyes.

"It was hero-like!".

The ginger haired girl grinned good naturedly. "See. We're all really impressed. I'm Kendo Itsuka by the way. I hope we'll be seeing each other again once the school term starts".

Naomi smiled. Her ears still burning. "Araya. Naomi Araya".

"I'm Kirishima".

If Naomi had to place the feeling the ginger haired girl radiated it would be sisterly. She felt like someone you could trust in to have your back. It was hard not to like that. Naomi also hoped she would be seeing more of the two people squatting beside her once the school term started. _I really hope I get in…_

She suddenly felt somber. It was a heavy thing which settled in her stomach as she began to realize that the points she had managed to gather would likely not be enough to get her a passing score. It was frustrating.

Kendo Itsuka patted them both on the shoulder before she stood up. She stretched and looked out over the completely devastated plaza. It really did look like a warzone.

"Well, as far as I understand it, a teacher is supposed to come over to each of the examination sites and give us a check up. Just in case anyone's injured".

Naomi wondered where she had gotten that information. Though she didn't doubt its accuracy. She didn't think the other girl was the kind to lie in these kinds of situations especially when there was nothing to be gained from that.

It soon became apparent that trusting the word of the ginger haired girl was a good decision when something caught all of theirs attention. While the continued chatter of the gathered examinees buzzed in the air there was another voice which soon joined in with the crowd. It was an old woman's voice. Calm. Kindhearted.

Naomi could swear she recognized it from somewhere.

"Here, here. Have a gummy bear. Good job today".

As the old woman's voice moved throughout the crowd of students with encouraging words and offerings of candy a steadily growing hush settled over the area. It was a mix of confusion and recognition. Some of those present could without a second thought recognize the old woman for who she was. Others remained in the dark. Bewildered.

Naomi craned her neck. Curious. She didn't see much beyond a short figure wearing a white doctor's lab coat and a bit of grey hair pulled into a bun. It was hard to ignore the telltale clank of the walking cane as well. But only once she tilted her head to the side and finally got a good look at the woman between a pair of towering legs did she realize who it was.

Naomi did a double take. "I-Is that?".

Kendo grinned. She recognized the woman as well. "Oh. It's _Recovery Girl_ ".

Naomi yelped. She slowly pulled herself into an awkward sitting position. Her legs sprawled out before her as she leaned herself against a large piece of broken cement. She ignored the sharp stab of pain which shot through her arms as she moved about. It all in order to get a better look at the school employed healing heroine. _She's really here!_

Kirishima snickered. "You a fan?".

Naomi breathed out.

"How can I not be?", she asked eagerly. Distracted. Her eyes glinted with excitement and newfound curiosity. It was rare nowadays to get a proper look at the old heroine. She was busy all the time. "I mean she's up there with _Lifeline_ and _Emergency Root_ in notoriety alone. But there's no one who has been in active duty as long as she has. She's amazing!".

Kendo beamed. "Ah. Here she comes".

It was from out of the middle of two students which she finally emerged. Recovery Girl. The old woman tapping her cane - shaped like a large syringe - in tact with her short footsteps. She wore a pink helmet going around either sides of her head with a purple tinted visor joining the two together over her eyes. It was a trademark from her prime days of active duty and recognizable to anyone who knew of the renowned heroine.

As soon as she came out from between the sides of the two students the heroine turned around and handed both of them a piece of candy.

"You have a candy too. You look like you need it. Good job today".

The students thanked the old woman awkwardly.

Finally Recovery Girl turned properly to the three students in the middle of the gathering. Two of whom were responsible for the giant carcass of the zero pointer laying like an oddly shaped monument behind them all. She eyed the sight before her carefully. Her eyes sweeping the area with comb like persistence until she settled upon the pink haired girl at the center of everything. She frowned.

"You're the one with the healing quirk".

It was more of a statement than a question.

Naomi nodded. "Y-Yes, ma'am!".

Kirishima's shoulders shook as he tried to hold in a round of laughter. Naomi hit him lightly with her elbow. She wanted to enjoy this. One of her favorite heroes - though she was sometimes forgotten due to time - had acknowledged her existence. It was awesome.

Recovery Girl tapped her cane against the ground impatiently. She grumbled something beneath her breath. "As one healer to another, I have to ask; what the hell were you thinking?!".

Naomi blanched. "I-I'm sorry?"

"You run into the midst of a battle and try to take the main villain on by yourself?! What were you trying to prove? Do you have a death-wish?"

Naomi swallowed thickly. Her ears rang.

The group of examinees all around them began to whisper amongst themselves. It was lucky some of them seemed just as confused as the pink haired girl in question. She would have died right then and there had some of them decided to laugh.

Naomi blushed furiously. Ashamed. "I just…there was a student. He was about to be crushed by that crazy huge thing and...and I sorta just moved".

She fumbled the words out clumsily. It was a lousy attempt to explain herself. But it wasn't as though she had thought things through in the first place once she saw the boy about to be crushed. It had been a blank slate in her head.

Recovery Girl sighed. The sound felt like a heavy weight in the air. She scrutinized the wreckage of the behemoth robot. Her eyes narrowed in distaste. "You're one of those brash types. What a bother".

Naomi blanched further. "S-sorry, ma'am".

Recovery Girl harrumphed. She looked back at the pink haired girl. Her gaze sharp.

"It was hard to watch you know! You acting the way you did through the end of the exam! Others might think what you did was heroic but what you're actually doing is carelessly abusing something rare! And you should know that, young lady!".

Recovery Girl breathed in harshly.

"As a healer you are supposed to be the very last person to stand! You're supposed to be an important pillar who the other heroes can lean back on whenever they're injured or in need of assistance!".

Naomi's eyes widened.

"But instead you're the only one in this whole examination site who's incapacitated! You're almost as bad as that boy from site _b_!"

Naomi swallowed. Her shoulders tensed. _W-who?_

It didn't really matter though. Whatever anyone else had done it had nothing to do with her own mistakes at the moment. Naomi looked down at her lap. She couldn't find it in herself to disagree with the heroine. It was clear from the get go what she was supposed to be. She had simply tripped up somewhere. Completely forgetting that from the start she could have asked for assistance when it came to saving that boy. She clenched her fists. _But that doesn't mean I can't go anywhere from here! I can still grow!_

She really didn't want to think about the meager points she had managed to scrape together during the practical however. That was something else entirely.

Naomi narrowed her eyes. She looked up at her idol. "I'm sorry! I'm gonna do better!".

Recovery Girl smiled. Her eyes glinting.

Naomi faltered. _She smiled! To me!_

"That's what I wanna hear!", the old woman proclaimed. She puffed out her chest. As though she was proud. "Don't go around wasting your talent, young lady!"

"I won't!"

"Then I better be seeing you as soon as the school term starts! We'll see about setting that reckless attitude of yours straight!"

Naomi smiled hesitantly. Her shoulders slumped. "O-of course, ma'am".

 _If I make it that far…_

Suddenly all the energy in her body felt as though it had drained up. Whatever that last spurt of determination was it was gone as quickly as it came. Her thoughts moving back onto the question of her performance at the practical. _Twelve points…_

It couldn't be enough.

Recovery Girl tapped her cane against the ground. She nodded to the pink haired girl and left her to think it all through. She turned to the rest of the surrounding examinees.

"Are any of you others injured? Do you you want some candy?".

Kirishima shook his head. Still bewildered. "I'm fine. Araya healed me up before".

"I'm alright too", Kendo replied. She smiled tightly. Her hands held up in surrender.

One of the other students raised his hand. He pointed toward his left leg. "I could maybe use a little something. I think I did something to my leg before".

While Recovery Girl moved on to take care of the remaining injured students the pink haired girl watched warily from the sidelines. Her thoughts a mess of anxiety and pride and excitement and then again anxiety. She couldn't make sense of anything. Once the older woman was out of immediate earshot she let out a sigh of relief. She was exhausted. Wasted. And she felt absolutely famished. That one sandwich hadn't been enough to sustain her by a long shot. She really needed something more filling. Something with more _oumph!_ She hoped she could sneak something out of the kitchen once she was home in case the _gorditas_ were already being made. _I wanna go home… and take a bath._

"Hey, Araya, you alright?", Kirishima asked quietly. He was frowning.

Naomi smiled tight-lipped. "Yeah, yeah...I'm fine".

He tried to smile reassuringly. "At least we got that zero pointer down. It's something".

Naomi wheezed out a laugh. Her lungs filling with a much needed gasp of air. "Yeah. You're right. It's something".

It really was something. She could only hope that certain something would be enough to get her where she wanted it to. It was wishful thinking. But... _maybe._

* * *

The train ride home was painful. Naomi had over used her quirk much worse than she had previously thought. The aftereffects burned within her skin. An ache much like lactic acid throbbed throughout her body. Her arms shook - though on a lighter note the trembling had lessened. Worst of all was however the grim foreboding feeling that she hadn't managed to get a passing score on the practical exam. She had just barely raked in twelve points. That couldn't be enough. It all left a horrible aftertaste in her mouth.

Also despite that it had ended on a rather encouraging note; her scolding by one of her greatest idols still grated on her mind. Naomi could act rather idiotic from time to time. She knew this. She always tried to do things better but sometimes her feelings on a matter simply seemed louder than whatever her mind could conjure forth.

She swallowed down the lump in her throat. Attempting to listen to the lyrics coming over the music in her green - her favorite - headphones. Just thinking about it all gave her a headache. A massive one like she hadn't had in years. She tried to think about something else. Something good. Maybe there would be a miracle. Maybe she would be accepted into the school despite her pitiful score. _Fat chance_. At least she made a couple of friends during the exam. _Shit. I forgot to ask them for their phone numbers._ She met her idol. _But she scolded me because I acted stupidly. Again_. Naomi pouted.

 _I'm getting gorditas tonight. That's good._

…

 _I bet auntie and Jana are gonna be disappointed._

The train stopped on Takoba station and the pink haired girl stepped outside into the cold. It was horrible. Because she wasn't sweating and running around chasing robots anymore the cold bit nastily at her face and unprotected hands. It made the ache in her limbs worse. She adjusted her backpack and began her agonizing walk home.

Naomi contemplated taking the long road over the beach but thought better of it. It had been an amazing sight to see this morning. She wanted to see it again soon. But now she was just tired.

 _I need a bath..._

It took her far longer than she would have liked for her to reach her neighbourhood and then again the driveway up to their house. She was slow because of her exhaustion. And then agitated because she was exhausted and therefore slow.

However once she arrived at the driveway the young girl came to an abrupt halt. Someone else was already standing at their doorstep.

It was a woman clad in a thick black coat and high-heeled boots which reached her knees. Her head was bare and flaunting black curls of hair and she was fumbling with something in her hands. Naomi recognized her as well as she would have recognized the symbol of peace himself had he stood there instead.

It was Lisa. Her aunt.

She was home early.

Naomi frowned. Her disappointment at herself and the performance she had put on at the entrance exam felt like a heavy weight upon her shoulders. She really didn't want to let her aunt down. It was something unforgivable. Above all because she was someone who did so well for herself.

Lisa was an intimidating woman. With coal black hair cut sharply to her ears and narrowed amber eyes which burned whenever she found something she didn't like. She almost always wore something black and high-heeled. Her style nothing short of acute and orderly. It had to be.

She was the kind of woman who did anything and everything for her career. Always ambitious. Always resourceful. She was revered in her line of work for her zealous attitude and ethics - which according to her aunt only gave her an edge whenever she took on a new case. It was apparently very important for a lawyer.

Naomi knew many people considered her aunt scary. She could very well be. She was very strong willed. But Naomi was one of the only ones who knew of her softer caring side. It was the side which only ever appeared at home. With family. Far away from the prying eyes of the rest of the world who judged the older woman for being quirkless. It was a pity. Naomi always thought she looked her best when she was enjoying herself.

Naomi faltered at the driveway. She stood still by the side of the black car and fiddled with the phone in the pocket of her bomber jacket. The song which had played over the headphones came to an end and because it was the end of the playlist as well an everlasting silence followed. She really wanted to make her aunt proud. And because her aunt wanted her to chase her dreams she had thought it would maybe be easier than she had first assumed. But she had stupidly tripped on the starting line. _I don't know if I made it…_

 _How can I say that to her?_

Lisa glanced back toward the driveway for a second. One of those insignificant looks which never meant anything special. Still it froze the young girl's world. Her ears buzzed. She couldn't breathe. Nothing moved.

" _Ah, Naomi, honey, everything good?_ ", Lisa asked. Unlike her girlfriend the woman clad in black had a perfect west coast accent. It mirrored the young girl without a single flaw to be found. She turned back toward the door - fumbling with something in the black tote bag she carried _. "Could you maybe help me get the door open? I got too many things in my bag. It's ridiculous. I really should clean it out"._

Naomi stood still. Unmoving.

Lisa looked back at her niece. " _Honey?_ "

Naomi clenched her jaw. She averted her eyes from the woman who had raised her since she was five - with only a little bit of help. It was too heavy. She didn't want to have failed. Not already.

The sound of high-heeled boots clicking against the small stone walkway from the house to the driveway warned the young girl of the older woman's approach.

Naomi swallowed thickly. It was as though her mouth was filled with a grimy poison. Her aunt stopped in front of her. Waiting silently for an explanation. Something to tell her what was wrong. Naomi felt ready to fall apart.

"... _Can I get a hug?"._

Her voice cracked.

" _I don't know if I made it"._

Her aunt stilled. She didn't ask any questions. She didn't say anything. Didn't even let out a disappointed sigh. It would have destroyed the younger girl had she done any of that. They both knew it. So she simply put her bag down upon the cold driveway. Breathed. And smiled softly. As though it was the easiest thing in the world.

Lisa opened her arms.

Naomi's breath caught in her throat. She felt her eyes sting and blinked quickly. Her throat burned. She instantly burrowed herself into her aunt's embrace. Her nose taking in the familiar scent of smoke and olive perfume. Of home. Her eyes closed. The knot in her throat unwound. She felt the weight upon her shoulders lift.

It didn't take long before the young girl's shoulders began to shake. And this time it wasn't because of her quirk.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Like I said before. This one's long. Seriously I both love and hate this chapter all at once. It took such a long time to write but with everything that happens in it I really think it's worth it. We get to hear a bit more about Naomi's quirk, and especially how it works in relation to her body. We see her fight against robots for a bit. She meets Kirishima.**_ _ **Then we move on to the zero pointer...I**_ _ **really don't know how the school got permission to set that thing loose upon the students. Even with Recovery Girl there. That's a little bit crazy even for UA. What if someone had actually died?**_

 ** _Naomi probably would have, if it hadn't been for that little boost she got and that wonderful Red Riot. He's such a sweetheart. I love him._**

 _ **Also in case anyone's wondering, don't worry, she's not gonna have a second quirk suddenly spring up out of nowhere. I really don't think overpowered characters are fun to write. I mean they have to be capable, and look cool sometimes - they're still main characters - but without any weaknesses and flaws it's just boring to read through. Naomi just has a part of her quirk which she hasn't managed to explore yet. But she's not ever gonna pull six quirks out of her ass in case I need to give her a power-up. That would just be bad writing...**_

 _ **Was that too soon?**_

 ** _Well, whatever Horikoshi has planned for the future, I hope he knows what he's doing._**

 ** _In case any of you haven't read the latest chapters of the manga; just ignore what I just wrote. You saw nothing._**

 ** _Moving on I want to t_** _ **hank you all for the follows and favorites! Each little notification I get makes me happy!**_

 _ **But even more I want to give a very special thank you (with a cherry on top) to all the reviewers of this fanfic! You're the ones really keeping the chapters coming! Without all your nice engouraging words I wouldn't have the energy to keep cranking out sentences! So thank you very, very much!**_

 _ **Furthermore; from now on I'm gonna have this little end part of the chapters dedicated to answering all the reviews coming my way! It's a much neater way for me to give you all a reply than any type of private messaging. Not to mention that stuff doesn't always work. So onward with the reviews!**_

* * *

 _SatanicLover666Illuminati:_ Thank you so much! You're definitely gonna get more! (btw your username cracked me up - love it!)

 _hinatayvonne:_ Me too! I guess that's why I included it?

 _Persoryme:_ Aw, damn! Thank you! Your review made me really giddy inside! And don't you worry, I have a lot of things planned for the future!

 _Nadine.T:_ Hey, sis ;) Thanks for the review, it made me really happy!

 _hinatayvonne:_ Haha, I guess you and Naomi have something in common then!

 _ansegiel:_ Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad you think I established her well cause that's kinda what I was going for - wasn't sure if I managed it though. I'm still working on my writing skills and I hope I'll get even better in the future! That you thought I managed the enviorment good too made me really damned happy cause I always struggle with that part - and action scenes!

 _Nadine.T:_ Hey, glad you liked it! And there's lots more coming!

 _Shaine:_ Whoa! You got it! It was totally inspired by that, but jana is also just the kind of person who would do something like that. She's a real blast to write. On the flip-side I feel ya with that mom nonsense. I'm twenty and though she wouldn't exactly use the car horn to get my attention, my mom loves to talk. With anyone. About anything. She once mentioned to one of my aunts that i write fanfiction...lucky the aunt didn't know what that was...but still. It was embarrassing.

Love that you think my little healer's adorable! And you're right! Time to rack up dem rescue points! We'll see just how many she got in the next chapter!

* * *

 _ **That's all for now. More chapters will be coming soon!**_

 _ **Thank you all for reading!**_

 _ **Please R &R!**_


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